Saving You
by TanookiGirl
Summary: Sanosuke and Megumi have complicated feelings for each other. Things get more complicated when Megumi is captured again to make Spider's Web, a deadly opiate. Sano fights to rescue her, only to realize they're up against a much larger organization than Kanryu. Its leader is from Sano's past, and his game is deadly.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own _Rurouni Kenshin_ or its characters. I only play with them.

#

 **Chapter 1**

Megumi sensed a presence as she cleaned her medical tools in the clinic. She often sensed a presence nearby, but it was usually her paranoid imagination. Since nothing ever came of it.

Not tonight.

She immediately felt the difference, like the difference between a panic attack and a real heart attack. Instinct pushed through the tang of adrenaline. Someone was really there.

All of her patients had been tended for the day and she was alone. Dr. Gensei, who ran the clinic, left early to take his grandaughters Ayame and Suzume to pick their favorite flowers by the river.

So, no one would hear her scream.

This thought occurred to her during the ten minutes the person lingered in the early evening shadows outside the door. Megumi deftly slipped her scalpel into the sleeve of her doctor's coat.

The problem with having some experience with criminals is that Megumi never quite shook off her paranoia. In her desire to become a skilled and knowledgeable doctor, she'd been misled by her mentor who worked for a drug lord, Kanryu. By then, it was too late to escape. Once her mentor died, she'd been complicit—forced—into making a rare and powerful opiate in his place. And the organization had held onto her, and her ability, like a vice.

Thanks to Kenshin's group, she was free from that and finally a respectable doctor. Repenting for her misdeeds.

But Megumi stilled waited for the other shoe to drop. For some danger or sadness to find her. She couldn't really be happy. Could she?

The presence now came closer. Her senses prickled, and the hair rose painfully on the back of her neck like pins. The person was a few feet to her left. At her rising fear, spots were starting to form around her vision. Scalpel firmly in hand, she whirled around and used it. But a hand caught her wrist between them. The scalpel knocked to the floor.

"It's just me," said Sanosuke, vexation tinting his voice, despite the quick surprise across his face.

"Sanosuke." Her voice sounded horribly weak and breathy. He was used to seeing her more put together, not frazzled. She felt embarrassed.

They were friends, sort of. As Kenshin's best friend, he helped save her back then, even if he hated her a little bit. She couldn't blame him. The drug she had made killed one of his friends. She was still trying not to let that guilt destroy her.

She cleared her throat, mentally grappling for her foxy alter-ego. "I thought you were… Nothing." She had to shake this off. Someday. Before she hurt anyone.

"He's not coming back," he said. They both knew who _he_ was.

Megumi forced a smile. "I know that, of course. Kanryu is in prison. It would be unlikely."

Even if he did resurface, Sanosuke, Kenshin, and their group at Kaoru's dojo would protect her if they could. They all seemed to have exceptional fighting skills or abilities. Even after a year, Megumi was still getting used to their friendship.

"Sometimes the mind does what it wants," said Sanosuke. "You don't have to pretend you're fine."

Too often, he could read her. Out of the entire group, Sanosuke behaved brutish and careless, and even idiotic, but he had a funny way of making her confront herself. He was still gripping her wrist, not painfully, but firm enough. The small effort of stopping her attack with the scalpel had jerked her close to him. And suddenly, she was very aware of him. Specifically, his body. He was tall with broad shoulders and a nipped waist, with long, slender muscles. Despite his slim frame, he exuded pure male power.

He seemed to realize how close they were the same moment she did, and released her like she had a disease. It was for the best.

"I'm just saying, you don't have to pretend to be strong." He winced. "That's not what I meant."

"Let's forget it, okay? It's just an off night. Did I hurt you?"

"Your aim was way off."

Megumi bent to pick up the scalpel and placed it with the rest of her tools. Over her shoulder she took a peek at his right fist, the one he kept bandaged for fighting. It looked uninjured, to her relief. No gambling fights lately or saving damsels at the Akabeko.

"What are you doing here?" she said. "I don't have any food. Especially for a freeloader like you."

"Freeloader?" he said with fake outrage. It was no secret that ever since Sanosuke gave up being a fighter-for-hire, he'd lived off a tab at the Akabeko and mooched meals at the Kamiya dojo. She didn't want to think how steep his gambling debts might be.

He helped himself to a stool and crossed his feet at the ankles. His expression was back to its usual careless, sleepy look. Eyes like a slumberous lover, and his hair always looked mussed from a _tatami_ mat. She took her time organizing her tools until her face stopped burning.

"I passed Dr. Gensei in town," he said, "He told me you were working late. It's dark out."

"Oh, thanks."

The clinic wasn't far from her home, but her heart warmed for one long beat. She dismissed the feeling. Sanosuke was just bored and looking for something to do. He didn't really care...

When she was finished, she gathered her things and locked the clinic. The dirt road was quiet. Wagon sellers and shopkeepers had closed up already. Sanosuke strolled beside her, keeping some distance between them.

"Since you mentioned my freeloading ways, it wouldn't hurt to reward me with food for my troubles," he said.

"I didn't mention it like that. And walking me home isn't an actual job, so no payment."

"Right now it's feeling like one." His arms were folded across his chest, his swagger relaxed.

It wasn't usual that she was alone with Sanosuke. It also wasn't usual that she worked late. When they were all together at the dojo, Kaoru and the others talked over each other so much that it filled any quiet dips of awkwardness with Sanosuke. But now their friends weren't around to fill that space. They quibbled, and then... _this_. Silent pauses that made her feel too aware of something.

She mentally reached to continue their argument, where things felt safer. "I'm sure it feels like hard work for someone who doesn't have a job."

A vein flexed across his forehead.

"Lazing about all day in the sun at the dojo," she continued. "Kaoru's become too lenient."

"I guard the dojo. And it's my job to keep an eye on Kenshin."

"Sure. Like a faithful dog."

He missed a step and almost tripped. "A what?"

"You sleep in the sun, get fed for free, bark at anything that moves..." She ticked the similarities off with her fingers. A glance at his face and she couldn't help herself. She laughed loudly, knowing it would irritate him further.

His ears turned red. "You don't like dogs. I remember," he said.

The only real dog she'd ever encountered was Notaro, an escaped canine who lived with them briefly, though she really hadn't appreciated the animal. The dog was big, smelly, and jumped on her.

Still, she expected Sanosuke to joke back or continue the fake outrage he often displayed. She couldn't decipher his flat tone.

They arrived at her home, a women's boarding house in a plain but respectable area of the city. Megumi inwardly sighed with relief. Their chatter had sustained the short trip, and she fought the urge to race inside. "Thanks again," she said.

"Don't forget, you owe me a meal."

He didn't leave right away, not until she walked in and slid the door closed behind her. Megumi was suddenly very tired. Trying to uncomplicate her thoughts regarding Sanosuke was a tiring activity.

She placed her medicine kit on a low table in her room, in the usual place. But her other things on the table weren't in their usual place. Her makeup powders had been opened and moved around, as if she had interrupted someone in a hurry.

She whirled around to study the rest of her room. A hand closed over her mouth. And no one heard her scream.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 _Like a dog?_ Megumi's joke replayed in Sano's mind as he leaned against the dojo post at Kamiya, squinting against the sunlight. The morning had a rhythm of sound. Kenshin, the once legendary manslayer during the revolution, was scrubbing laundry in a bucket. Ayame and Suzume played tag nearby, their delightful yelps carrying on the breeze. Kaoru and Yahiko, her student and adopted resident, sliced the air with wooden practice swords.

Everyone had a purpose.

Sano couldn't help feeling like Megumi had a point. He didn't have the anger and resentment from the revolution motivating him anymore. At the least, those feelings were at a low simmer. But who would help Kenshin fight? Who would keep Yahiko out of trouble? Who would tell Kaoru her cooking was terrible? He was definitely needed here.

Megumi was just messing with him. The fox.

He did admire her sense of purpose, how sure of herself she seemed to be. She acted brilliantly during emergencies. She always had a clever remark for him. And she was quick to grab Kenshin's attention—especially when Kaoru was looking.

That last thought was least favorable. Sano put it out of his mind and got more comfortable. He was about to doze off when an elderly lady with a bandaged foot and crutches wandered over to him.

"You looking for the clinic? It's that way," he told the granny.

"Thank you, but I was supposed to see Dr. Takani this morning. She's never missed an appointment with me. Do you know where she is?"

Sano stood and walked to the clinic with the elderly woman, slowing his steps as she precariously hobbled along. Megumi was a playful vixen, but she took her work seriously. Probably more than anybody. He frowned the whole way.

When they arrived, the clinic had a dozen patients, Dr. Gensei attending to one.

"Yo. Where's Megumi?" said Sano.

Dr. Gensei answered without looking up from his work. "I don't know. But what a day to be out. We've got a full clinic this morning." He motioned to the other ailing patients.

"I'll get her." Sano handed the granny off to Dr. Gensei and turned toward the road.

A number of assumptions floated in his thoughts. Megumi slept in accidentally. Or she had an important errand in town. Or she was at home, sick. But something told Sano he was wrong.

When he got to the boarding house, the landlady wouldn't let him in. He casually barged past her.

"Megumi," he called, passing several doors and not knowing which was hers.

"You're not allowed in here," the landlady said, shoving herself in front of a particular door, unwittingly directing him to the right room. "This home is for women only."

He reached for the door behind her. She hit him in the side, which felt like a toddler poking him.

"I'm coming in," he said, as a last warning. Hopefully Megumi wasn't indecent. Embarrassment warmed his face, but concern won out.

He slid the door open. The landlady, forgetting him momentarily, gasped at the sight. Things were knocked over, the _tatami_ mat empty, and Megumi nowhere to be seen. Her medical box had fallen sideways on the floor. _So she'd put up a fight._

Sano remembered her skittishness last night. Did she know she was in trouble? Was she hiding something? It would be normal for Megumi to put everything on her shoulders and not say anything. When Kanryu was after her, she'd tried to sneak out, thinking she was protecting everyone if she went back to that criminal pig.

The fearful look on her face had been...unusual. And Sano had been irritated, not because she almost stabbed him with a scalpel, but because she didn't deserve to be afraid.

He flexed his fists, his right one stretching the wrappings around his knuckles, wrappings Megumi had applied last week. The landlady was calling for help as he made his way out, moving one foot in front of the other like a threat, a promise. If anyone got in his way, so help him. They would meet Buddha.

He thought about telling Kenshin and the others. Kenshin was their leader simply by being the strongest, the smartest. And he was most respected by government officials for his work as an imperialist during the revolution. But this time, Sano didn't go to his friend. Instead, he went to the gambling den where underground criminals still skirted. If there was one thing he retained from being a fighter-for-hire, it was getting information from people.

One conclusion filled his stomach with dread. The only reason someone would kidnap Megumi is if they somehow knew of her past talent: making the deadly opium Spider's Web. Kanryu was in prison. The Oniwabanshu group involved with Kanryu had dissolved. Except Aoshi.

But Aoshi was repenting in Kyoto. Who could it be?

#

Strips of tied cloth bit into Megumi's wrists behind her back. Those thugs had thrown her in a dirty back room, bound and gagged like a goat ready to roast. It had been hours of distant thumps and activity, punctuated by cheering from somewhere in the building. As she breathed furiously through her nose, she scanned the room for a weapon. Preferably something sharp to cut the bindings. By the time she realized there were only cleaning supplies, footsteps approached, making her pulse race all over again.

The door slammed open, revealing long shadows of two henchmen. They grabbed her and lifted her out of the room. She kicked with all of her strength and energy, her body flopping like a fish trying to escape their hold.

"Calm down, Megumi Takani," said a booming voice.

She froze and peered through the strands of hair in her face. A man sat in a high-back chair, swirling a glass of wine and watching her like a sport. Despite the elegance he presented, he was a fat man with big teeth. Not innately refined looking like Kanryu. No, this leader looked hardened and scarred, with too much oil in his hair.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?"

"Show some respect." One of the thugs backhanded her across the face. Pain burst from her cheek, frying her nerve endings. She almost lost her vision for a moment.

The leader leaned forward in his chair. "There's no need for that. Megumi is our guest. You can call me Koton. Welcome to _Tabemono_ , our little group."

 _Little_ was a funny word to use, considering the building seemed enormous and henchmen were everywhere.

"I don't care who you are," she said. Her cheek still stung.

Koton smiled without amusement, his big teeth protruding from his lips. "You should. Kanryu did."

"Kanryu?" She felt faint.

"Who do you think he was selling to? I'm the biggest distributer in Tokyo. Until that bastard left me high and dry for months. As the manufacturer, he was always rationing Spider's Web for a higher price. Took me long enough, but now I found his golden hen. And I can roll out opium by the crate." His eyes glowed at her.

"I don't do that anymore."

Unconcerned, he made a gesture to one of his men, and an older man was kicked to the center of the room between them. It took a few seconds for Megumi to recognize the frail person at her feet. It was her eldest brother.

A man she hadn't seen since they had been separated in Aizu from an explosion during the war. She was just a young girl at the time. It had been so many years.

Shock dropped her at the knees beside him. Hating her bound hands, she searched him with her doctor's eyes before they filled. "Shizu, can you hear me?"

His heavy eyelids opened to her. "Megumi?" he whispered.

"I'm going to get you out of this."

Koton boomed a laugh. "Don't make promises you can't keep. He's my insurance. You'll make Spider's Web as long as I have him." He leaned forward to her. "And you'll do it without complaint."

One of the thugs kicked her brother in the stomach. He gasped, his eyes glassy with shock.

"Don't!" Megumi cried. "Please."

"So we understand each other. And to show you my appreciation..." With another signal from Koton, Megumi was grabbed by his men and taken away. Her fight against them was weakened by distress for her brother. Her heart ached and she felt close to hysteria. In ten years passed, she got to see him for one minute, and was still grappling with that disbelief. Age-old regret surfaced.

She was tossed into a different room—onto a bed— and the door shut behind her. They had wrenched the binding from her wrists, leaving angry red marks.

Face-down, Megumi didn't move. First, she mentally put herself back together. She learned to compartmentalize her feelings, especially during upsetting moments at the clinic. People came in with all variety of pain and injury. But her ability went back farther than that. Trapped and forced to make malign drugs for Kanryu, her impulses had to be shut away.

She breathed in and out, the facets of her mind closing dark thoughts and moving toward a neutral mindset. Until emotions were less raw. Until she felt rational again. Until her heart beat normally. It was a great effort this time.

Eventually she looked around. She was in a European-style bedroom of mismatched velvet and silk, from the blanket, rugs, to drapes, giving the room a forced, gaudy appearance. Some appreciation Koton was showing her.

In her slightly numbed state, Megumi didn't care about her life. She lived to repent. But ending everything now wasn't an option. Her brother was in danger. Koton obviously went to a lot of trouble to get him from Aizu. As much as it hurt seeing her brother in that condition, she knew they wouldn't kill him. Not when they needed her. She had value here. Wherever _here_ was.

She went to the window and looked out. Somewhere in west Tokyo. The bay was to the east.

Things were different this time. She couldn't make opium for the same reason Kenshin couldn't kill. It would destroy her, slowly. And yet, her brother's life hung on her doing just that.

Opium was the drug that killed Sanosuke's friend, too. She remembered how his brown eyes had burned with anger toward her. She dropped to the bed and put her head in her hands. He wouldn't forgive her this time. _Sanosuke._

#

Smoke from the opium den burned Sano's eyes. Grown men lay in cots, with vacant eyes, helpless against the seductive call in their veins. Women glided throughout the den to serve, their movements automatic and passionless. So this was where his friend Yoita spent his last hours. It was by far the most depressing scene Sano had ever witnessed.

Red Nose, a belligerent gambler tied to the Yakuza, revealed the growing energy behind a new opium producer, an organization called _Tabemono_. The once-weakened drug network was strengthening to deal throughout the city.

Sano had played dice for each answer. And after an entire pot of sake, Red Nose couldn't give Sano the one thing he still needed: The name of the leader. He admitted he didn't know.

But Sano did discover the biggest opium den in Tokyo that wasn't supposed to exist. At least he'd gotten that much. And a racked up tab at the sake house.

"Yo," he called. No one looked up at him. "This place is so dreary," he grumbled. He grabbed the kimono sleeve of a passing woman. "Where's the owner?"

She wordlessly nodded and glided to the back of the room. Sano followed her to a curtained doorway, but a wiry man stepped in front of him. The man spit in the direction of the noiseless woman and she ran away. "No one talks to the owner without talking to me first."

Sano punched him in the face, feeling bones crack. The man fell against the wall unconscious like a rag doll. "That's all I have to say," said Sano, and brushed the curtain aside.

An ancient-looking woman with milky eyes sat at a desk, barely scraping money under a newspaper when Sano barged in. They stared at each other. Sano scratched his chin. "Yeesh, I can't punch an old granny."

"Who wants to see me?" she said, her voice sharp.

"Sanosuke Sagara."

Her thinning eyebrows went up. "Oh? Zanza the fighter?"

"How do you know that?"

She tisked. "We all know. And you still wear the character _wicked_ on your back. The underworld doesn't forget."

He said nothing.

"Well you made it this far." she said. "You found the Spider's Den. I'm impressed."

"I want to know who you buy from." That pooled dread in his stomach was icy and it had been leaking for hours into his gut. It wasn't just about pounding Megumi's kidnapper into the ground. He was afraid she would try to take her life again. And he would be too late this time.

"Why would I tell you and endanger my business?" said the old woman. "I heard you left the underworld, that you've taken up with an imperialist no less." Everyone in the black market despised imperialists and the Meiji government. Naturally.

Sano used to hate them, too. Now he just hated the government. In an honest battle, he'd fought against Kenshin, the strongest imperialist fighter, and lost. Then they'd become friends. But there was no need to explain that to an opium dealer. His fists would talk.

Sano punched her desk with his _Futae no Kiwami_ , exploding it to dust. He stood back satisfied, imagining the granny cowering in fright. As the wood dust started to clear, a whoosh of sparkling brown powder hit Sano in the face.

"What…"

Particles landed on the tip of his tongue, melted. His eyes widened at the bitterness. _Opium._

He stumbled backward, coughing it away. Some treachery to turn it into a powdery form.

"Damn you."

His words were slow and thick around his mouth, and the edges of his vision glittered, softened. Manufactured happiness filled him, bewildering him.

The last image he saw was the granny's milky eyes through the dust.

.

.

.

* * *

A few housekeeping items:

I gave Megumi's eldest brother a name, as its unknown to me. If you know it, please share! And you might've noticed, some characters are made up. There is a plentiful cast in Kenshin, but I wasn't ready to go full OOC with some of them. In return for going along with this, I gift you some amusement. The Japanese translation is as follows (thanks Google):

Koton = Piglet

Tabemono = Food


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

#

Kenshin roasted a fish on a stick over a small fire, noting the late afternoon sky streaked with deep blues and pinks. The vibrant colors reminded him of Kaoru's kimonos.

Sano hadn't hung around the dojo much today. Sometimes he played dice—racking up gambling debts—with his friends for hours. But it was nearing dinner time and Sano hadn't sauntered over with a yawn and fake surprise that he was popping around at such a fortuitous hour. Kenshin took his time roasting the fish, pondering his friend's absence.

"I'm starving!" Kaoru tossed open the sliding wood door of her practice room. "All of this training has tired me out."

Behind her, Yahiko was wriggling on the floor like a beetle trying to right itself. "I'm the one training. You're just ordering around. 'Do this, Yahiko. Not that way, Yahiko.'" He came upright and patted his clothes, wincing at new injuries.

Kenshin felt amusement, and a stirring of pride.

"It's hard work where you're concerned, Yahiko. Always arguing with me and interrupting."

"Quit complaining," he drawled. "I'm your only student keeping this school alive. Without me you'd be getting plump on sweets all day—"

"Yahiko!"

They were nose to nose, Yahiko pulling a face, Kaoru boiling with annoyance.

"Come on, you two," said Kenshin. "Dinner is done..." A burnt smell assailed his nostrils. The fish had turned charcoal black on the stick.

Kaoru's irritation turned on him. " _Kenshin._ "

He smiled nervously. "Beef hot pot?"

Sometimes a much-needed change of scenery was in order.

They walked to Akabeko, the hot pot house. Kaoru had changed into her kimono and Yahiko agreed to wash his face and hands. Tsubame would be there working, the girl Yahiko liked. Kenshin put himself together as best he could, but his clothes were marked up with all of the holes he had darned. The patched marks resembled the scars he carried underneath.

Kaoru seemed in better spirits when a steaming bowl of stew was set between the three of them. Not four. His senses itched. He wasn't the only one who seemed to notice.

"Where's Sano?" said Kaoru, serving Kenshin, then helping herself.

Yahiko bolted down his food. "Who cares? There's finally enough for us to eat without a freeloader around." But a line formed between his brows as his chopsticks flew around the bowl.

"Who are you calling a freeloader?" said Kaoru, giving him a raised eyebrow. Kaoru had taken Yahiko in almost a year ago, just after taking in Kenshin. She seemed to like collecting strays.

Tsubame came to their table to pour more tea. She took her time with the task, peeking at them anxiously.

"Tsubame?" prompted Kenshin.

"Um...excuse me for asking," she said, "But have you seen Miss Megumi today? She wasn't at the clinic. I have a...friend...who would like to see her." The sweet girl looked at her toes as she spoke, her voice quiet.

"What's wrong? Are you ill?" asked Yahiko, his food forgotten. His eyes blazed with a mixture of juvenile urgency and maturing protectiveness.

"Megumi wasn't there today?" said Kenshin, his voice pulling tight. Sano hadn't turned up for dinner. Now Megumi. One unusual occurrence was mildly interesting. Two was suspicious.

"What about Dr. Gensai?" said Yahiko.

Tsubame's sweet face turned up shyly at his persistence. The embarrassed, pitying look in her eyes made him blush. "I'm okay. As I said, it's for my...friend."

Kaoru gave Yahiko a light smack on the head. "Yahiko! This is a private, feminine matter. Tsubame is becoming a woman." She turned to the girl. "Don't worry about anything. It's completely natural."

Tsubame smiled nervously, backing away a step. "Please, Miss Kaoru."

"I'll let Megumi know you're looking for her."

Tsubame sighed, seeming to give up on convincing Kaoru otherwise. "Er, thanks." She bowed and left their table. Kenshin smiled after her sympathetically, but his amusement soon faded.

Kaoru caught his eye. She was good at sensing his changing moods.

"It's a bit strange Sano and Miss Megumi are both not around today," he said, almost to himself.

"Do you think something is wrong?"

Yahiko pulled a face. "Maybe they're kissing. Eww."

"Honestly, Yahiko," she said, giving Kenshin quick sideways glances. Perhaps checking his reaction, to see if he was jealous. But Megumi's flirtations toward him were a cover for her real feelings. She'd been trying to get Sano's attention. Too bad Sano didn't realize.

"Better safe than sorry. I will look for them," he said. His grip tightened around his sword.

He started to move, but Kaoru's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Wait." Her voice dropped to a giddy whisper. "I hate to say it, but what if Yahiko's right?"

He looked back at her. She was much closer than he expected, looking as warm as he felt. Awareness rose along his jaw, as heat seeped from her fingertips into the fibers of his kimono. Her eyes were wide and wobbly, but behind them he sensed something else. Envy?

He carefully placed those dangerous thoughts aside, and turned to his worries about Sano and Megumi's safety.

"I must take that risk, Miss Kaoru."

"You sound like a soldier leaving for battle, all grave and honorable. Still. Now that I think about it, they're always fighting. Maybe it means something."

"But…"

"We should let them be," she insisted.

And tugged him back with a bit of force, bumping the table. He sometimes forgot how strong she was. Yahiko grabbed the tipping hot pot, cursing as he burned his fingers. Kenshin's teacup knocked into the air, ready to explode into a million pieces, He managed to save it in his palm.

Kaoru returned to her food, completely undisturbed by the near disaster. "Trust me. I know these things."

"Yeah, someone here should get lucky around here. And it's not Kaoruuuuu!"

Yahiko got a dizzying smack on his head again. He grumbled and went back to his food, eating with a vengeance.

"I'm surrounded by stupid boys today. What would girls do without me? First Tsubame, then Megumi." Kaoru gave a deep sigh of a woman carrying a noble burden.

Kenshin hoped she was right.

#

Sano woke with a sore neck and a sluggishly sick stomach. The tailend of a thought lingered in his brain, a piece of a dream. Or a memory. He unfolded himself from against a wall and sat up. His neck stretched and cracked with relief.

He was in a large room, dimly lit and filled with rows of cots. Several men lounged around. One was thick muscled and built like a horse, meditating on the ground. A skinny guy in the corner cracked his knuckles and stared at Sano. And a tattooed man who looked at him only once with a taste for blood in his eyes.

Beyond the doorway, two men fought each other in a dirt hole while a crowd, people made of dirty money, jeered and shouted and made bets. A few low-brow politicians among them. Despite the feud between the underworld and Meiji government, he wasn't surprised to see them. No one was clean.

Sano gritted his teeth and made a fist. A shackle tugged his wrist back. He suddenly felt its weight.

"So you're awake," said a voice. "I'm Jin." A thug sat in a chair cleaning his fingernails with the point of a knife. He seemed to have some authority. "The Widow said you could fight."

The Widow must be the old lady that had gotten the best of him. He couldn't decide if this was her way of bringing Sano to her supplier, or if she had just fed him to hell.

This time he didn't struggle. "Are you her opium supplier?"

"We do many things. Koton is building an empire."

Koton. _He knew that name._

"You can't build anything against the Meji government." Not while Kenshin was alive anyway. But the place seemed to be teeming with life. People in the background moved with purpose, going into one doorway, coming out of another, preparing the next fighters, pouring more sake. They were all armed with various weapons.

"We already are. Greedy politicians are easy to control. They love our betting pits, our fighters for hire, and even our opium. We own them. And we will own Japan."

They owned Sano, too, apparently. Otherwise this guy, Jin, wouldn't have shared so openly. They weren't worried about him escaping or telling anyone.

"Ambitious," said Sano.

"The great Zanza doesn't sound impressed."

"I'm just a regular fighter."

Jin went back to cleaning his nails. "Pray on your life that isn't true. If they aren't excited"—he jerked a thumb toward the raucous crowd behind him—"that won't be good for you."

Damn that old lady. He'd completely underestimated her. And now he was paying for it. His mouth felt dry and tacky from the opium.

"I gave up the name Zanza long ago."

"Oh? I heard you were something of a legend back in the day. Stirring fear into the hearts of others in the black market. You could knock out anyone with the flick of a finger. You were so strong you were bored with fighting. Or was it all made up?"

Sano said nothing.

"Let me tell you a secret. All these men here, they're wolves," said Jin. "My pack. And do you know what every pack has? A master. They get their food from me. And they fight for me." He leaned forward. "The wolves who don't fight for me get put down."

Another roar came from the crowd, and one of the fighters collapsed. Feverish exchanges of money flew around the pit. _The fighting pit._

Piece of an old memory slithered out from the deepest recesses of Sano's mind, before he'd made a name for himself as a fighter-for-hire. The feel of facial bones crunching under his fists, his knuckles slipping off blood and sweat-soaked skin, the numbing rage that grabbed him like a parasite and held on. The images rushed through him like an assault. He remembered the years he spent in a fighting pit. He'd been so young, when it was easy to feed his rage. Because a broken rib or a black eye was better than feeling helpless.

That's what regret did to a person. Regret that he hadn't been strong enough to save Captain Sagara. That the government prevailed. It had made him feel anguished and powerless.

Until he hit someone.

Then he forgot those feelings and took control. A fighting pit had made him stronger, given him a name. Eventually they called him Zanza.

A cry from a familiar voice wrenched Sano back to reality. Jerked his gut forward like those damn trains Kaoru insisted on riding.

But he could hardly process what he was seeing.

"Out of my way!" Megumi shoved past the standing fighter (his muscled form didn't budge) and dropped to her knees beside the fallen one. "Enough of this. Can't you see this man is near death?"

Jin had gone over to the pit. He gripped her arm. Fury exploded in Sano's veins. "He's fine. You can go another round, can't you?" he asked the fighter. It wasn't really a question.

The fighter barely nodded his head. His face was one swollen bruise.

Megumi fought Jin's grip. "He's done."

"He's done when he's dead." Jin made a signal and a few henchmen stepped in to take Megumi away.

"Wait. If you let me care for him, you'll get many more fights out of him. Isn't that what you want anyway?" She visibly winced. Sano knew the words she spoke disgusted her. Unlike Kaoru who whacked enemies in the name of protection, Megumi hated violence of every form. She couldn't even stab him properly with a scalpel. But if she did stab someone, she'd likely tend the wound immediately afterward.

Jin scanned the crowd. Maybe he didn't want anyone to see him lose control of the situation. He shrugged and turned away. "Since you're stupid enough to get yourself in here, I'll let this one slide. Fix him up. And he better be in perfect condition when you're done. Now get out of here."

A few men grabbed the wounded fighter and Megumi, and carried them to another room somewhere in the building. As soon as they were out of sight, Sano felt his entire body sag with relief.

She was alive. She was here.

With a grunt, he snapped the iron chain off his wrist. Then he just sat there, his knees pulled up to rest on his elbows. Because despite his relief, they were both in trouble now.

People called Sano simple. All muscles and no intellect. Saito Hajime had used some other colorful terms to describe his idiocy. Sano had no defense, only offense. He rushed ahead without thinking. He was secondary to Kenshin. The dumb sidekick. The brute.

There was no way he could ever compete with Kenshin. He didn't predict attacks or unearth the deepest desires of his opponent. He punched his way out of a situation. Maybe that's why he didn't ask for Kenshin's help this time. He thought he take care of this himself for once.

Even with discipline, Sano couldn't change who he was. But perhaps he could give himself an upgrade, some fine-tuning. He wasn't going to give up. So he'd sit and wait. He'd play by the rules, win every fight in the pit, until no one, not even the boss, could ignore him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

#

Everything was laid out for Megumi to make Spider's Web. On the table next to an empty cooking pot were stacked bricks of opium. Opium was made from the poppy plant, where one had to slice the green pods and collect the white goo from inside. It quickly oxidized and turned brown, and was then molded into those lumpy bricks. Presumably Koton had a poppy farm and workers to do this.

On the other side of the pot were more ingredients. The key ingredients.

The _Tabemono_ somehow discovered what turned opium into Spider's Web. They just didn't know how to combine everything, the measurements, the order, the process. What to look for. Only a chemist would know.

And yet, Megumi's hands remained at her sides, trembling. Not because she'd just put a body back together. The wounded fighter was resting in his room while she stared at this table. He was the thug who had backhanded her with a painful lack of mercy when they first brought her to this awful place. Despite that little significant fact, she had taken an oath to do no harm. To heal the injured, cure the sick. _Blah, blah, blah_.

Koton had been furious. "If you have time to tend that fighter, you have time to make Spider's Web!"

Megumi went to the well and filled the pot with water. Then she stoked a fire and let the water come to a boil. She dropped some opium bricks in and added lime to purify the substance. The separation process would take some time. She made a show of preparing and cleaning things, so it looked like she was hard at work whenever someone popped their head in to check on her and growl.

After several hours and a questionable meat stew had been set for her on a nearby table, Megumi decided to look around the compound. It never hurt to know the place better. And where the nearest exit might be.

She wandered the halls. Eyes followed her, but no one stopped her. She seemed to have a tiny bit of power here. They needed her. Once she tested the boundaries as far as she dared, she stopped in front of a door that looked like the rest of them.

"I'd like to see my brother," she said to the two guards.

She discovered where they were keeping him earlier, before she stumbled into the fighting pit.

"Be quick," said one of the guards.

They let her in. Shizu was curled up in the corner, but he wasn't asleep. She sat beside him.

"Megumi," he said. He looked at her for a few beats. "I thought you were a dream before."

"I'm so sorry."

She had fragmented memories of her childhood that seemed to grow fuzzier every day. But she remembered her eldest brother. He'd raised her in some ways, when their father was often busy treating patients. Their family was from a long line of doctors, and they owned farmland, granted to them by a royal family. Shizu would carry her on his strong shoulders that he used to lift bales of rice. He pointed out trees and birds to her. She remembered his kind voice. Those strong shoulders were now thinned and hunched. Every line of his face showed exhaustion, but she hoped and prayed he'd had a content life before this. She swallowed past her tight throat.

"How is everyone else?" An answer she'd been eager to know.

"They're good. Our mother still has determined energy, despite her age."

It was a small comfort to the years she missed. A deep longing unraveled her inside, for the woman who taught her how to cook and wiped her dirt-skinned knees. She took her brother's hand in hers. "This is all my fault. The people I love are always in danger because of me."

"Always?" He looked at her curiously. "What's your life been like? Before this."

She told him about everybody at the Kamiya dojo. Aside from her family, she did love her friends. Including Dr. Gensai and the girls. And that one person she couldn't quite confront her feelings about. She didn't want to count how many times Kenshin's group had fought on her behalf, put their lives at risk. Each time, she yearned to be more useful rather than a burden. She couldn't fight like Kaoru.

"It sounds like you're surrounded by good friends. I'm relieved." At her questioning look, he added, "I worried you were alone. Or worse."

She looked at his face. Time had started breaking down his body, but he was the same to her. "I wish we had reunited differently."

"Me too." Just seeing him, it was difficult not to confront her own shame. Never far from her thoughts, but it threatened to spill out of her. She swallowed hard. "Things weren't always nice. I've done terrible things. Criminal things."

"If you did...I'm sure you had your reasons."

"Why are you giving me the benefit of the doubt?"

"Because I know you. It's been many years but I know you. You were always too hard on yourself. Even as a child, when you climbed a tree, you scared a family of birds from their nest. You spent all night making them a new one. Weaving twigs together. It was better than the original. And you put it in the tree and prayed the birds would return."

She felt a wisp of fondness. "I don't remember that."

"You were young. I was much older...and I'm old now."

"Not _that_ old," she said, glimpsing the touch of gray at his temples.

He turned to her, serious. "Old enough to know you need to get out of here. With or without me, you must escape."

"Not without you." Her voice caught.

"If you see a chance for yourself…" His eyes cut to hers like a long, slow knife in her gut. "And you don't take that chance, I'll never forgive you."

Megumi was frustrated and sad when she left. But part of her was happy that he'd shared such a precious memory with her. It overwhelmed her with how much she missed her family. She'd been separated from them once. She wouldn't even think of leaving Shizu here. The guilt still churned inside her. She couldn't make up for those lost years, but she could try now.

"Sorry, brother," she whispered to herself. "You'll have to never forgive me."

#

Kenshin sat outside the Kamiya dojo, waiting for Kaoru to wake. His sword rested across his lap. The morning was beautiful, with the bluest sky, trees waving in the gentle breeze, and the girls' laughter in the distance. He was grateful for days like this.

The door slid open and Kaoru emerged, her black hair shining and twisting around her ribbon. Their eyes met, registered.

"Oh, no." She sat down beside him. "That's the look of someone with bad news. Sano and Megumi still haven't returned?"

She'd correctly concluded what Kenshin already knew. Sano came and went as he pleased, but Megumi (and her perfunctory routine) had vanished. Kenshin had checked her boarding house at dawn. He would've left as soon as he realized, with a note delivered to Kaoru, but he knew by now that she didn't sit back with notes. She'd rush after him—nose-first into danger..

He told her what he'd found out from Megumi's landlady. That someone had broken into Megumi's room, her tenant was gone, and how "the brute with wicked on his back" was looking for Megumi. She thought Sano was a dangerous thug.

"How do we find them?" said Kaoru.

"The gambling den first." Sano had gone after Megumi himself, which niggled Kenshin. Either someone had caught Sano by surprise….or he wasn't keen on Kenshin's help. Whatever it was, Kenshin had to know if he was safe.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru's voice was small. "If we're too late, I blame myself."

He took her hand. "Don't say that. Sano is tough. And Megumi is crafty." And whoever was behind this would face the Meiji era's justice. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, his thumb brushing her knuckles. He allowed himself that small gift.

"Let's go," he said.

She nodded.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

#

Sano looked up at his fighting opponent, up the wall of scarred muscle to slit eyes. The fighter had thick wristbands and big fists to match. He bumped those fists together, licked his lips.

The crowd bordering the pit was wild. Exchanges of money, onlookers, and others waiting to fight. And of course, a number of politicians. Cigarette smoke misted across the pit. And shouts boomed in Sano's ears, their voices seeming to crawl all over him, wanting him to live or die.

He flexed his own fists. His opponent may be a hulk, but he'd fought big guys like him before. Anji had been his greatest opponent. This guy, on the other hand, looked like dumb, chopped meat.

Adrenaline began to fill Sano's veins. He lunged forward and threw the first punch at his face, pushing through thick, resistant flesh. The fighter's neck flew back, and Sano smirked. He had him. "That was easy," he said.

The slit eyes swiveled toward Sano and smirked back. _Oh shit._ Before he knew it, meaty fingers encircled his throat and threw him across the pit. Sano crashed onto his back, the air pushed out of him painfully. He couldn't breathe.

"Well that was over quickly," said Jin. He had the best view of the fight in his raised seat.

The goon took menacing steps toward Sano, his large frame blocking out most of the crowd from Sano's vision. He hadn't felt like this since the days of Shishio. Confusion clouded his thoughts. How could he have been thrown so easily? He searched the fighter, who wore loose bottoms and nothing else. Sano didn't want to believe it was brute muscle. There had to be something else. Maybe something to do with his wristbands. Sano had to figure it out quickly—he refused to die in this pit. He wasn't smart like Kenshin.

His clamped lungs finally forced open and he gasped in gulps of air.

He was grabbed again. Sano shoved his elbow into the fighter's side, making the wall of muscle stumble slightly. Enough to release him but not enough to hurt.

"Come on!" someone in the crowd shouted. More shouts rallied around the impatient better.

At least Sano was faster on his feet. If he could avoid being thrown, and strike before then, he could win.

The fighter turned belatedly, following Sano's jump to the other side of the pit. With renewed energy, Sano beat at his broad torso with multiple attacks. It was like shoving a shipment crater with all of his might, his strength only moving it by inches. Then he got whacked from the side with a dizzying punch.

But he got up faster this time. Hot blood trickled down his forehead, impairing his vision. He wiped it away. The crowd was insatiable.

The hulk breathed heavily, and a few bruises appeared on his chest. He wasn't as unaffected as Sano initially thought. He just had to keep fighting through it. Endurance would be the deciding factor. He wiped his eyes again, flexed his fists.

They circled the pit, attacked, and circled again. Each coming back from the encounter more wounded, more tired, more determined. The hulk growled, his slit eyes tinged with worry. Shouts and blood flung around the pit. Sano felt himself slipping back to his past self, when blind rage motivated him. He couldn't protect Captain Sagara, being too scared, too young, _too weak_. He couldn't destroy the Meiji government with Katsu. As fragile as it was, the government was too big, too unapologetic. And it buried its secrets and crimes into unwritten pages of history, as the young boy inside of Sano cried for justice. All of those swirling thoughts had an addictive feel. His movements became unhindered, sloppy, and primal. His veins felt bigger, his thirst for the kill brighter.

It was another punch, nothing special, that dropped one of them. The hulk landed on his knees, soaked in his own blood and sweat. Sano had never figured out his ability, which disappointed him a little. But he'd punched through all of it. It didn't matter what his opponent could do.

Sano stood over him, ready to give the final knockout. Past the crowd, movement, a slash of blue, caught his notice. Megumi, in her doctor's outfit, stared at him, right into his soul that he'd bared for everyone in this room.

The look on her face made him want to die of shame.

Then he got hit in the side of the head, and everything went black.

#

Megumi stitched the cut above Sanosuke's eye, wiped the excess blood with a wet cloth, bandaged his other wounds, as she clenched her teeth so tightly her jaw might break. It was the only way she could keep her emotions back. Throughout her work, Sano lay unconscious, until she tied the last bandage a little too tightly. The dim glow of a gas lamp barely provided enough light for her work.

He groaned and opened his eyes halfway. The urge to strangle him strengthened, as did her absolute relief and concern.

"You shouldn't have come here," she whispered. They were alone in the small room, but guards weren't far from the door. "What were you thinking?"

His mouth moved slightly, a hint of his usual grin. "I guess you were expecting Kenshin. Sorry to disappoint."

His comment threw her off for a moment. "I wouldn't wish this place on anybody, including Dear Ken." Although her words were true, she immediately sensed she'd said the wrong thing. Sanosuke looked away. "I'm just surprised to see you," she added.

"Don't be," he said. "Of course I would look for you."

She nodded. "I guess the group will be grateful. Kaoru and–"

"They have nothing to do with it. I'm doing this for purely selfish reasons." His eyes were warm brown, like amber, and the glint of truth in them was too much for her.

"I'm not worth you getting beat up like this."

She took in the entirety of his wounds, the stitches above his eye and at his shoulder, bandages protecting those areas with more around his waist and arms. She knew he had bruised ribs, too. It took an enormous amount of strength to knock Sanosuke down. And he was the type to die in a fight, if his opponent wasn't merciful like Kenshin. That's what scared her the most. She didn't want him, or anyone else, to die for her.

"Before, when you were fighting…" she began.

His gaze fell.

"You looked so...haunted."

"Like you, I'm not proud of my past." He paused a long time, and Megumi wondered if he would say more. His struggle to do so seemed greater than what had just transpired in the pit. Some agony he was trying to hide and reveal all at once. His next words were careful. "Do you know how someone becomes a fighter-for-hire?"

She shook her head.

"They fight for their lives in the pits, for years. Until someone with money picks them up, like a prized bull, and offers them a job. Back then, I figured a little money wasn't so bad, if I could profit off my anger. I guess I was remembering those days."

When Sanosuke wasn't lounging like a contented cat with his sleepy eyes, his expression seemed itchy, like he was trying to forget past angst. Megumi began to understand why. She had the strangest urge to hold him in her arms, comfort him, but she knew he wouldn't want her pity. Or her protection. He was unusually old-fashioned and proud like that.

"Thank you," he added. His eyes were closed now, probably exhaustion catching up with him.

"What for?" _For dragging you into this mess?_

"You stopped me from doing something terrible back there."

That she would have any power over Sanosuke was ridiculous. "You're welcome."

His breathing evened out, lengthened into a restful state. She watched him sleep, trying to feel calm. He was okay for now under her care. She hoped he wouldn't be fighting again, but it was a naive thought. If he was involved in the fights, then it was unlikely they would escape. That he was just as trapped as she was.

In her brief window of privacy, Megumi leaned down and pressed her lips to his bandaged forehead. The wrappings modestly kept her kiss from meeting his skin. She prayed for his safety.

Before she could sit upright again, his hand cupped the back of her head, startling her, and he dragged her mouth down to his.

She froze, shocked by the pleasure. His mouth was hot, firm.

Despite her playfulness toward Kenshin, Megumi had never kissed anyone in her life.

Sanosuke steamrolled past her shock. He kissed like an advancing army, parting her mouth and sliding his tongue against hers. Her thoughts emptied, her only awareness of how warm he was, how their lips moved together. It was the best thing she'd ever felt. Heat raced along her skin, waking up her impulses.

She heard herself moan, and his grip tightened in response.

A knock, or thump, banged on the other side of the panel door, shocking them apart. "Are you done in there? Boss wants his opium."

"Yes, I'm coming out," she said. That's what Megumi thought she'd said. Her breathing was heavy and loud to her own ears, her face feeling too hot.

Sanosuke didn't seem similarly affected. His breathing was normal, his eyes clear and watching her. This bruised her ego a bit. Then it hit her.

 _Damn._ He'd heard about the opium. Of course he would suspect. But hearing it aloud felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head, chasing away those warmer feelings.

"They have my brother." She moved from his side to leave, too ashamed to look at him.

"Megumi," he said, stopping her.

She didn't want to face him, or his complex brand of justice. He often forced people to confront themselves about their wrongdoings. Opium, in particular, was a sore subject between them. But this time, she didn't want to look at herself.

When their eyes connected, it was compassion he gave her, and unspoken words swirling between them. Perhaps they both understood each other a little better after tonight.

The door opened and Megumi was led away. For all she knew, it was the last time they might see each other.

* * *

 **Hope you liked this one! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

#

His lips still burned from Megumi. The most frustrating, intriguing, unattainable woman had kissed him back. She was feminine and graceful, standoffish at times, with a dose of wit that could crack a man in two. Her skill as a doctor seemed miraculous to a simple fighter like him. And even though she got under his skin, even though she seemed to adore Kenshin, _she kissed him back_.

Sano continued to fight in the pit, his opponents varying in skill. But he entered with a different mindset. Before, he'd been slightly lost and unfocused on the inside. Now he entered a fight with resolve.

When the fights were over, and everybody cooled off at night, Sano realized many of the fighters weren't cruel. They fought like it was their day job, not their passion, with no hard feelings against each other. And in the evenings they played cards and even laughed. It was twisted. Only a few seemed to love it. Sano kept his distance from them, a closer eye on their movements. And a closer eye on his surroundings.

When he'd been helped back to the fighting quarters after receiving medical care from Megumi, he noticed several closed doors leading in and out of the pit. One smaller, rounder shaped one in particular had caught his eye. But he was being watched closely too, and didn't dare investigate where that door might lead.

He didn't see Megumi since the first night, as he was winning every fight the last few days. But without using his _Futae no Kiwami._ He didn't want Koton to know his true power, not until he knew what was really going on.

Koton had been a boy from his fighting days; they'd both been struggling for survival in the underground channels, making a name for themselves after the revolution. One day in the pit, some of the amatuer fighters had gathered around Koton and beat the crap out of him. _"Little Koton! Little Koton! Go cry home to your mother."_ A fight was a fight, but this was bullying. Sano punched them out of the way to help the poor boy. His name was Koton. He was stout with a thin neck, and people took him for weak.

They became friendly after that day.

Sano had just wanted to fight, but Koton knew how to work people. "Watch this," he'd say. Koton would trick those bullies to fight against each other. Koton would meet his eyes and give him a thumbs up, making Sano laugh. The big fish thought they were playing Koton, but Koton was playing them. In time he won others over with favors and camaraderie, and later, his strength. Fighting forced you to be stronger if you wanted to live. Soon Sano wasn't protecting him but fighting alongside him.

He doubted anyone knew of their history. It was a brief time in his fighting career.

When Sano left it all behind, he never imagined Koton would rise to this much power. The police commissioner Kawaji must know something, Sano hoped. But everything was tightly controlled at this secret compound, including when Sano could relieve himself. His only trump card would be the element of surprise, once he got close to Koton with his _Futae no Kiwami_.

He had to rise in the fighting ranks and get closer. That's why he had to hold on longer in this pit.

As Sano threw his last punch and his opponent fell, a man in a green suit went around the edge of the pit and approached Jin. They talked for a few moments. Sano knew the man wanted to buy him, already having made Jin several offers. Politicians liked to have dogs to do their dirty work. Sending someone a "message." Protection from various dangers. Even assigning them to do assassinations. It was the perfect solution for leftover fighters of the revolution who had no other skills and needed purpose. The Meiji government was like a vampire preying on the desperation of warriors who were once honored.

But Sano felt sure Jin wouldn't sell him, as he made more betting money off of Sano. It should've bothered him that Jin was making a huge profit off of his blood and sweat, but Sano was past that. He was playing the long game.

He went to his cot and cleaned himself up, wiping sweat off his face with a towel and testing the flexibility in his fist.

Jin approached him. "I've agreed to a price. Someone wants you pretty badly."

 _Shit._ Sano wanted Koton's attention, not some greedy politician's.

"No thanks."

Jin's brows shot up. "Most fighters would be happy. A life out of the pits. What's your angle?"

"I think I'm more valuable to a growing empire than some rich sap."

This seemed to impress Jin. "A true believer now, are you? Well don't worry. Koton owns everything. That 'rich sap' will let us have you back whenever you're needed. You just have to do a few jobs for him."

His stomach sank. "Great."

Jin misunderstood him, assuming his agreement was eagerness. He laughed. "All right then. Finish cleaning yourself up. He's waiting." Jin paused in the doorway. "And don't let this opportunity get to your head. You'll never rise higher than me."

 _Smug bastard._ It was time for Sano's plan to change. He couldn't leave the compound without Megumi. Especially in the hands of some corrupt government official. In all of his past years of being a fighter-for-hire, he'd never worked for an imperialist. And he wasn't about to start.

A clap on his tense shoulder dragged him out of his dark thoughts. It was Kodo, one of the _harmless_ fighters he'd briefly gotten friendly with. The goon was like a happy giant when he wasn't beating the crap out of someone.

"When you make it out, have some _amezaiku_ for me."

One of Kodo's fondest recollections when he traveled around Japan was _amazaiku_ , hot sugar candy formed into animal shapes and put on a stick to enjoy. This was before he became a wanted criminal by the police and joined Koton. It amused Sano to envision this hardened fighter enjoying such a delicate treat.

"I'm just taking a job–"

Kodo leaned in with a meaningful look. "When you make it _out_. Have a piece of _amezaiku_ for me, in my honor."

 _When he escaped_ , is what Kodo's eyes said. Sano nodded once. "All right. I will."

"Watch for the uppercut."

Another fight was about to start, and it was Kodo's turn. Sano looked around the big, open space of the room, planning the best exit. The noise of the crowd started to rise when the two fighters jumped into the pit. Jin was there. The pack leader turned his head to where Sano hid by the doorway. Sano ducked out of sight. If Jin saw he was ready, he'd bring him to the buyer. No, let him be distracted by the fight.

The fighters circled each other like restless tigers. A few punches got the round going, giving the crowd a taste. But it was clear Kodo was going to overtake the other. He unleashed his favorite move, one that he liked to use often—double uppercut. The crowd went insane. Kodo winked at him.

Sano nodded his thanks, raced along the excited activity and slipped out of the fighting room, leaving the sounds of cracking bones behind him.

The hallways were dimly lit, and he had to wait a few painfully long moments for his eyes to adjust. Then he followed the rows of walls, pausing occasionally when he heard talking and henchmen moving about. He waited until they passed, then snuck down another passageway, trying to guess where Megumi might be staying. He didn't know if he was going in the right direction, every step mounting his frustration. But this wing seemed to have slightly nicer rooms than where the fighters stayed. Some rooms were empty, plain, and cool. Definitely an upgrade from the sweltering cots.

He came to another intersection, poked his head around the corner. Two guards hung around one of the doorways, sitting cross-legged with swords leaning against them.

Someone important was being held in that room. _Megumi._

He remained hidden, thinking about what to do. He couldn't afford a loud struggle, or risk that one of them would run past him and notify other guards. He needed to invite their curiosity, one at a time. Then the idea came to him. He did the most idiotic thing he could think of. He made a low bird noise.

"What was that?" said one of the guards.

Perfect.

One was coming over to check. When he saw Sano around the corner, Sano was quick to muffle their struggle, and the guard went limp against him in a second.

"Well what is it?" the other called. A gusty sigh of impatience and some mumbled insults later, the guard followed his friend and was immediately dealt with in the same manner. But he emitted a short cry before Sano knocked him out unconscious.

He winced and listened intently, but no additional footsteps came running for him. No one else seemed to suspect foul play.

He rushed to the locked door and punched it to dust. It made a hollow sound. "Megumi?" he whispered.

An older man sat at a plain, beat-up table in the room. He had some boyish features, but age showed in the gray at his temples. "You must be her friend," the man said.

Wrong room. His heart sank. "Sorry. I thought you were…"

"I'm her brother. Shizu." The man looked outside the room at the fallen guards. "Nice work."

He already liked the guy. "Do you know where they're keeping Megumi?"

Her brother shook his head. "I was hoping she'd escaped by now. But seeing you here… Who are you anyway?"

"Sanosuke Sagara. We live at Kamiya dojo in Tokyo. Well, _we_ don't… We're not together." Sano gave himself a mental kick, exasperated with himself. "She works with Dr. Gensai, the dojo's clinic." There.

Shizu's eyes brightened with pride. "I know. She's a doctor."

"Yeah. A pretty great one, too."

Sano helped the man stand. He looked undernourished, and Sano supported his weight, half carrying him. They stepped over the unconscious bodies and made it down a few dimmed hallways. Perspiration dotted Sano's brow, tension in his shoulders aching, as they evaded guards nearby. It was the stress of the situation getting to him.

"Can I give you some advice?" said Shizu. His voice was low.

Sano made a noise of agreement in his throat, keeping one ear open to their surroundings.

"Don't wait too long with Megumi. As you know from being here, life is uncertain."

"I don't know what you mean. Megumi and I–"

The older man tisked. "I'm not senile yet, but I've lived long enough to know. And despite the years apart, I know my younger sister. Half-raised her, too. She never does anything halfway. She's determined, good, and smart."

"Stubborn."

"And ambitious."

"Kind," Sano added.

He felt the man smile. "Very kind," said Shizu.

"Cunning as a fox, too."

Shizu chuckled.

They rounded a corner, meeting an unsavory group point blank. Sano's eyes widened. There were about ten henchmen, the politician in the green suit. And Jin, looking murderous.

Sano hadn't even heard them, as if they'd silently stopped to look around. And Sano stupidly handed himself, and Megumi's brother, right back to them.

"There he is," said the politician. "He's rightfully mine, Jin. We made a deal."

"Well, get them," Jin barked to his goons.

Sano set the middle-aged man against the wall and prepared to fight. He weaved around their clumsy attacks, knocking them from behind with his fists. They stumbled to the ground. He wasn't sure how strong Jin was, but guessed the guy wouldn't go down easy. The packleader had to keep his fighters in line, after all. But Sano didn't get the chance to find out.

The click of a cocked gun paralyzed him. The politician aimed it at his chest.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

#

Megumi was in her work room, _not_ making Spider's Web. She was pressing the side of her face against the ground, listening. At night, people bothered her less.

She continued making a show of boiling the bricks of opium, added lime to start the purifying process. When the organic matter sank to the bottom, she skimmed the white substance off the top. There was one more step, but her beliefs grew firmer and firmer. She simply couldn't create the final product again. Everything in her soul forbid it.

And then that kiss from Sanosuke…

Her legs sizzled faintly from the memory. His mouth had been hot and possessive, though it was the look in his eyes that burned her so thoroughly. That look had left her shaken.

If Sanosuke could show her compassion, surely she could show herself some?

When she first joined Kenshin's group, Sanosuke had been the last to warm up to her, still overcoming the grief of his friend's death (and his anger toward her). Perhaps because of that, she'd felt the most satisfaction the first time he burst out laughing at one of her jokes. She hardly remembered the joke—something about Kaoru's country girl ways—but remembered the sound of his laughter. Deep and rich and free. Like a welcome, gusty breeze.

But often their personalities scraped uncomfortably against each other. She was the cunning fox and he was the numb-skulled brute. That was a safe place for them to be. She didn't want to notice his sweet curiosity when she picked medicinal herbs, or his unusual keenness when watching battles, or his warm, sleepy looks. That he wasn't really a brute at all.

With her ear pressed against the ground, the cold temperature of the stone cooling her blush, Megumi thought she heard water dripping and a hollow echo of rushing air, like wind in a canal. Were there tunnels leading out of this compound? If there were, they were right under her work room. She jammed her ear further into the floor, trying to listen harder. But she was interrupted by the sound of restless movement throughout the halls, footsteps approaching.

She flew to her feet and peeked around her doorway. Henchmen seemed to congregate somewhere within the building. Guards hurried about with targeted purpose, violence humming under their footfalls. She put her back to the wall as two passed down her hallway.

"A fighter was caught in the north wing," said one of them.

"What was he doing all the way over there?"

"Who knows. But he had the doctor's brother with him."

"Koton will torture him for this."

A noise of agreement. "It's been awhile since we had this fun."

Megumi's breath caught, and ice flowed in her veins. _Sanosuke!_

She hadn't seen him for days. She worried about him, until her mind felt raw. He must've been trying to escape tonight, probably looking for her, and got interrupted. She wondered what had triggered him to act.

It was different when he was fighting in obscurity. But if her brother was involved now, Koton might connect her relationship with Sanosuke, and kill one of them. Koton only needed one hostage alive to control her...

And that's when the truth hit her.

Being complicit wasn't saving the people in her life. Being obedient in an opium work room wasn't healing her soul. Being scared of shadows over her shoulder wasn't making her freer.

She had been in a fog of feeling sorry for herself, trying not to face her trauma and fear.

People had risked their lives to save her, but deep down, she still had to save herself.

She had to do _something_.

Megumi's thoughts raced as she went back to her work table of scattered opium ingredients, and grabbed the single gas lamp for its flame. There was little doubt Koton would be looking for her, too. His golden hen. She darted down the halls, her blood pumping wildly, and made it to the poor excuse of a medical room where she had patched up the broken fighters. The room was lined with an unorganized amount of supplies, from soap to gunpowder. In her haste to set broken bones and stitch wounds, Koton and Jin hadn't seemed to notice or care of her close proximity to such a dangerous substance. Maybe they'd forgotten it was there. Or perhaps Koton felt confident she wouldn't try anything with her brother held hostage.

That all seemed behind her, suddenly. She dragged a bag of the gunpowder back to the work room and scattered the powder all over the table of opium ingredients. The ingredients were also flammable—another aspect Koton overlooked. Blowing it all up was the perfect irony to her situation. Bury them in their own product. From those ingredients, she poured the rest of the gunpowder into long, winding trails around the room to give herself time.

Her brother was staying strong for her. Sanosuke was fighting day and night for her. Megumi's inability to act left her disgusted with herself. But no more. Her new self that yearned for a free and complete life, broke through her sad shell.

With the gas lamp, she lit the end of the trail.

#

Megumi ran back down the halls, toward the growing commotion, and right into the clutches of a group of henchmen. Her body painfully flung against their granite arms as they grabbed her and hauled her into the great room, where a large crowd had gathered. She glimpsed her brother nearby, similarly held by men in the crowd.

In the center, Koton sat smugly in his big chair. The garish, desperate attempts at respectable wealth enshrining his throne.

And the sight of Sanosuke in the clearing made her breath catch. He was bare-chested and shackled at the wrists, hanging from the ceiling like a cow about to be butchered.

He was unwounded and alert. For now.

"So the great Zanza has finally graced me with his presence. I'm surprised to see you here." Koton let out a guttural laugh, although an intense glint held in his eyes. His followers joined in their leader's amusement.

"I'm surprised you became so full of yourself," said Sanosuke.

He spoke as if he knew Koton. Jin looked curiously at the two, the fighting manager leaning against the wall behind his leader.

Koton leaned forward, resting his chin on his meaty hand. "You were quite a legend back in our day. People feared you in the underworld. Even though you were easily bored with a fight and abandoned your enemies, they still got a taste of that wrath from your fists."

"I usually don't fight weaklings, but I'll make an exception for you."

"You talk big. But from what I can see, you're the one hanging at my mercy. Your fighting skills have diminished. You're nothing like you were back then. A few years of civilian life and you've turned to mush." He pointed and boomed a laugh.

Sanosuke was indeed hanging at Koton's mercy, but he didn't appear worried. He gazed at the largest drug lord in Tokyo with solemn, knowing eyes. "Back then, when everyone was out for themselves, you brought them together with loyalty and strength. But all you did was use them, and build an empire on lies. You're right. A few years is enough to turn a person to mush. _Little Koton_."

Koton sprang from his chair, his shoulders rising and falling with anger. The two stared at each other in challenge.

In the tense moment, Megumi processed the exchange with some understanding and a lot of bewilderment. Some time in Sanosuke's fighting experience, he must have came across Koton. Had Sanosuke known what he was up against here? It hadn't occurred to discuss such details with him during their brief time together. Now she felt silly for it.

Koton seemed to realize the room was waiting for him to do something. He relaxed himself and resumed his seat. "You're pretty confident to insult me in your position." Koton gestured to the shackles at his wrists. "But what I can't figure out is...what were you doing with the bitch doctor's brother?" His yellow eyes found Megumi in the crowd instantly, making her skin tighten. Whatever he saw in her expression made him happy, which only filled her with dread. "Oh, so you know each other. Now it's getting interesting."

Sanosuke gave it away too. His jaw flexed, his gaze no longer boastful. A flash of worry crossed him.

Murmurs scattered around the room, growing louder, as if all of this was a theater performance. Koton seemed to know how to work his followers, knowing his long pause would fuel them. They began to jeer and chant for blood. In their excitement, the goons around her had loosened their grip. Megumi slipped past their heavy bodies, pushing her way to the center of the room. Some of the noise subsided.

She stepped in front of Sanosuke, feeling completely exposed as all eyes pressed on her. At that moment, she might be willing to do anything. "Stop this. You already have everything. Just let him live."

"What the hell are you doing?" Sanosuke said behind her in a steely murmur.

"Coming up with a plan," she whispered.

"I already have a plan. Sort of."

"You're flying by the seat of your pants."

"And you aren't?"

He had a point. She wanted to sigh with exasperation, if only she wasn't numb with fear.

Koton revealed his big teeth. It was anything but a smile. "And why would I let him live?"

"Because," she began. Her thoughts raced. Her leverage was weak, but she knew Koton liked to collect people. Everything and everyone was a commodity to him. "He's useful as a fighter. There's no use killing him."

"I've been lenient with you, Megumi. A few patched fighters to amuse yourself. But don't think that you understand my nature. Your tricks won't work this time. Cross me again and I'll torture you for the formula of Spider's Web. I don't need _you_ alive." He was working himself up again. Spittal collected in the corners of his mouth.

Megumi's skin went icy and damp at his words.

"You bastard," said Sanosuke, his voice low and menacing. "I'll beat you for those threats." To Megumi's complete shock, he snapped the metal vises holding his wrists together as if they'd been nothing but chopsticks. A fighter ran up to stop him, but Sanosuke smacked him to the ground with one hit.

A collective gasp went around the room.

"Please," she murmured to him. "Don't try to be a hero. Not for me." She couldn't lose anyone else.

Sanosuke gave her an unreadable look. He might've been angry at her words, wounded by them, or even amused. His warm fingers settled on her shoulder, and he gently moved her aside, staring ahead.

"I'll beat anyone you throw at me," Sanosuke continued. "And when I win, I'll come for you."

No more laughs. Koton's eyes blazed with interest. "As you wish." He signalled, and at least thirty henchmen rushed at Sanosuke from all sides. She stumbled out of the way.

They piled on top of him, one by one, like a human mountain.

Megumi felt hysteria rise in her throat. They could suffocate Sanosuke with their weight. People didn't realize how easy it was to in fact do that. Bodies pressing down, preventing your ability to breathe or move. Like being tangled and stuck in a rice sack.

Sanosuke surfaced with a force she didn't expect. Fighters were thrown back from the center like a ring of ripples in a pond.

In their staggered confusion, he fought through them. She heard bones crack—hopefully not his. Fighters screamed as they were injured. The circle widened around him as he cleared the area, unconscious bodies littering the ground.

"Come on, Koton," said Sanosuke. "You and me, like the old days." His fists were still raised and he was clearly ready for the next round of breaking bones. He looked tired, but grinned dangerously.

Until they all saw what Koton had wheeled out—a gatling gun, the devil's scythe among weaponry. It was merciless and violent and unstoppable. They both knew that from Kanryu's mansion. What was it with drug lords and their guns?

"Coward," he muttered.

"It's called self preservation," said Koton. As he grasped the lever and began to crank, time stopped for Megumi. Her breath stuck, terror rose behind her eyes, and a buzzing filled her ears. No one escaped a gatling gun.

Then a booming explosion erupted from behind them at the back of the building. Megumi felt its tremors travel from her toes up to her head, like the rumble of an earthquake. The gunpowder had burned up.

Chaos unleashed in the room.

* * *

 **This is a bit of a fast-paced story. But hang with me. More good things are coming. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Sano grabbed Megumi and her brother as the crowd swirled around them dangerously, some fighters trying to close in on them, others escaping or looking for the source of the fire. Shizu hung onto his shoulder like before. Her brother was still weak, but his eyes were alert.

"It actually worked." Megumi appeared dazed. The moving crowd caught her swaying body.

"You caused the explosion?" said Sano.

She nodded. "I couldn't wait for you to punch every last one of them."

A vein puckered at his brow. Despite the small slight, he had never felt more impressed. And he made a mental note not to leave Megumi and Katsu to their own devices in the future, if he wanted to keep his limbs. They pushed through the moving wall of flesh, Sano smashing someone's face aside when necessary. The confusion helped to disperse incoming attacks.

"I think there are tunnels out of here," said Megumi. "We have to go quickly." She went ahead, to his surprise.

Who was this brave woman throwing herself in front of him, destroying buildings, and rushing ahead to their escape? He doubled his pace to keep up.

Sano thought he might know where the tunnels were located. They made their way into the depths of the compound, toward the fighting pit. That rounded, strange-looking door had to be it. Koton's men had seemed particularly protective of it. Now everyone was running around and the door was left unattended. But it was locked.

Megumi pulled at the iron handle to no avail, looking like cloth hanging from a line. Sano put his hand on her small shoulder, meeting her frantic eyes. She was scared under that bravery, like a memory chased her. He suspected she was remembering the fire that had separated her from her family many years ago, and his heart stung. The ghosted fear faded when she felt him. She stepped back and gave him some room, supporting her brother in his place.

"There they are! Get them!" said a guard nearby.

Sano punched the door to dust as shouts sailed behind them like incoming arrows.

"Hurry," said Sano, gesturing Megumi ahead of him. He took hold of Shizu, who grimaced. The tunnel was dim and damp. There was only one narrow path, so they ran it.

Too soon they arrived at a fork splitting the path in two, right or left. Sano hesitated. The force of Koton's henchmen coming down the tunnel shook and disrupted the structure. Chips of rock started to fall from the ceiling.

With unexpected strength, Shizu wrenched himself from Sano and shoved them in the direction of the left path. "I'm slowing you down. Go now," he said.

"Brother, what are you–"

"I'll distract them the other way." His expression was resolute. Familial love and dignity etched into every line of his face as he stared at his sister. Then chunks of rock rained down, separating them and clogging the opening. They couldn't turn back for him if they wanted to.

"Shizu!" Sano yelled. "Goddamn it." He coughed away some of the dust.

Megumi was an incoherent mess, eyes filled and unseeing, trying to get through. She didn't move away from the rock wall. In that moment, Sano's control of everything seemed to be falling apart. He lifted Megumi in his arms and carried her, amidst her weakened protests.

The tunnels occasionally opened from different sides, but Sano stayed straight. He carried Megumi for hours, suspecting that all of these tunnels led beneath the entire city of Tokyo. It was no surprise Koton was able to build an undefeated empire in secret if he could move around the city with this much freedom.

Eventually the path widened, presenting an alcove off to the side, and secluded enough to stay hidden. Upon seeing it, all of the weariness in Sano's body caught up with him. Looking down the darkened path, they didn't seem any closer to getting out, but the air quality was clearer.

"Let's rest for a while," he said, his voice creating a short echo.

Megumi slid from his arms, looking sightly more in control of herself.

"The _Tabemono_ probably have him," he said.

She nodded once and slumped down in a corner, resting against the rough wall. He sat across from her in silence.

Maybe her brother got away, too. If not… If Koton really wanted Megumi back, they would keep her brother alive. He was sure of that. He _had_ to be sure of that. It was the only thought keeping him from blind rage.

"I'm sorry," Megumi said to him in a low voice.

"Don't apologize." His teeth gritted together. He couldn't stand seeing her feeble again.

"If I hadn't–"

"No." His knuckles were white. "I won't let you blame yourself. If you hadn't what? If you hadn't been captured? If you hadn't learned to make a deadly opium? If you hadn't parted with your family? Kenshin didn't save you just so you could blame yourself for living. None of this right now is your fault." He took a deep breath. "It's mine." He let the truth of that sink in.

After he had bided his time in the fighting pit, his escape plan was hurried and botched. He led Shizu into danger. He caused the sorrow in Megumi's expression. And they were in seemingly endless tunnels. The size of the disaster weighed on him heavily and shame filled him.

"If I can't blame myself, then neither can you," she said.

His throat tightened, but he forced the words out. "If my pride hadn't motivated me, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess."

He'd wanted to be the star, the hero, and prove he could handle anything on his own. To save Megumi by himself...maybe she'd run to him for help in the future, instead of Kenshin. It was stupid, and yet, his insides had felt shaky and raw and hopeful with the thought.

"Honestly," he added, "Your explosion saved us."

Megumi laughed bitterly. "Maybe that was _my_ pride motivating me."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have any fighting skills. Not like the rest of you. I'm always the burden, needing to be saved. I got sick of it." She looked at him, eyes glittering like he'd never seen. "I give you a hard time for being a freeloader. But truthfully, I'm the one who is useless."

Sano was stunned. Megumi was elegant and confident and educated. He couldn't imagine her feeling insecure about this. What she did was incredibly important. He stifled the impulse to laugh out of sheer disbelief. "You're far from useless. You care for people."

She started to shake her head, but he leaned forward. "I'm serious. This fist I use is good for only one purpose—to destroy things. You heal. _You_ are what the world needs."

It was her turn to look stunned. Sano had no idea what she was thinking, but he couldn't look away, her gaze holding his like a fist around his heart.

Then Megumi surprised him and started undoing her doctor's outfit. Her delicate, efficient fingers untied the panel, and her arms loosened from the sleeves.

"What…"

"You must be chilly," she said.

She leaned forward in her pretty kimono and threw her doctor's coat around his bare shoulders. He'd almost forgotten that his _kappi_ had been torn away by Koton. The coat was still warm from her body and wrapped around him like the most feminine embrace.

"Those words you gave me. They are a gift I will treasure," she said. "Thank you."

His hand encircled her wrist, keeping her close. The air charged between them. Adrenaline from their escape still pumped through his veins. And their conversation left him raw.

Sano could see in the depths of her eyes that she wanted him too. What had felt unreachable now felt inevitable. _Not like this_ , he cautioned himself. Not in this hard tunnel, with danger on their heels, and her brother missing. _But..._

He kissed her, gently at first, moving his lips along hers, exploring the shape of her mouth. Megumi made a sound, a sharp intake of breath, and opened for him.

His tongue found hers. She tasted sweet and fragrant, like a warm summer day. It reminded him of their trip to visit Dr. Gensai's sister in the mountains. The air had been crisp and perfumed. He loved watching Megumi pick herbs and flowers, telling him what each one was used for. He loved the way her dark, solemn eyes turned luminous with joy over the task.

"Megumi," he whispered. His lips moved down her throat, nipping at her soft skin.

She moaned softly, gripping his shoulders.

His hands moved up the silk of her kimono, along her spine, feeling the satisfaction of her shiver. Her hair was a shiny mass that flowed like water between his fingers. He wanted her hair to fan out beneath him. He wanted to hold her. To feel her completely.

His body was hard with lust, and he could already imagine how it would feel to sink into her. The bliss, the heat. His thoughts began to unravel. Sano cupped the back of her head and angled her face to look at him.

"Do you want me to stop?" he said. Their breathing was heavy and ragged.

Megumi's eyes were as deep and dark as the tunnels, her porcelain skin flushed. In many ways he knew her soul, but she was still mysterious to him.

One of her hands ran slowly up his chest, sparking his blood. She looked up into his eyes, and her next words were like a key that unlocked him. "Never stop with me."

When he kissed her again, it was deep and encompassing. He worried he was too rough as hot need pumped through his body. But Megumi urged him closer, pressing her hips against him in a way that drove him mad.

Their sounds mingled with the distant cave rumbles. Natural water dripped somewhere beyond.

Sano cradled Megumi in his arms, folded her doctor's coat beneath them to protect her from the uneven ground. Their limbs tangled together and he shifted his thigh between her legs. Her pelvis rubbed deliciously against his, making him groan into the crook of her neck. Even with clothes hindering them, Sano thought he might die. She was all around him, filling his hands, taking up space in his mind.

"Sanosuke." The sound of his name from her lips, breathy and heavy with desire, sent him down a path he wouldn't be able to come back from. Once he had her, he'd want her again, forever.

As he slipped his hand beneath her kimono, thrilling at the heat of her soft skin, he swallowed her gasp with a deep kiss, and made sure they both felt very, _very_ good.

* * *

 **Thank you for the reviews! They reminded me that it's been many weeks since updating—I bought a house, moved, and got caught up in All The Things. I hope you enjoyed this one. There are only a few chapters left.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

A distant tremor snapped Megumi awake. Her eyes adjusted to the dim cave walls. They had dozed for a little while. She lay tucked in Sanosuke's shoulder, her hand across his chest. It rose and fell steadily with his sleep. She watched his profile for a few moments, her gaze tracing the angle of his strong jaw. His expression, which usually held a hint of restlessness as he tried to forget his troubles, was now relaxed.

A few strands of hair fell across his brow, hair that had felt so unbelievably soft between her fingers. She hadn't expected that. She hadn't expected a lot of things, and smiled, remembering how well they had fit together.

Her body had felt like a temple under his worship. He seemed to know exactly where to touch her, and when she was ready. She had been so keyed up, she begged him. _Please._ He had chuckled low, his breath hot against her ear, and assured her it wasn't time yet. His amusement would have irritated her, but he felt _so_ good. He drove her further, until she was tightly wound and aching for release. Then he gave her everything. And made love to her with deep, uninhibited passion.

He handled her exactly the right way.

She curled closer to him. Her limbs felt weightless, her body rested from bone-deep satisfaction.

Sanosuke stirred beneath her, stretching his body long. He looked down at her.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi." She already sounded breathless.

He turned onto his side to face her, propping himself up on his elbow. " _Hi_ ," he said again, this time drawing out the word as if he had created it just for her. He drew her chin closer and kissed her. Short at first, then a little longer.

The rest of Megumi's body awakened, like a lamp burning brighter. Then he drew back and gave her that lazy, slumberous smile that made her pelvis flutter.

Even in this blissful moment, she felt she had to tell him something that had been lurking in her thoughts. "Sanosuke," she started.

"You always call me by my full name."

His comment stopped her short. "I guess I do."

She'd never felt that type of camaraderie with him to shorten his name. Maybe in the back of her mind, she knew they were more serious.

"I like it," he admitted.

She smiled, but it soon faded. They had to make an important decision. "Sanosuke."

"I know." He sat up and looked for his clothes. "Ow!"

"Rocks?"

"Yes." He rustled around to put his clothes on.

She drew on her kimono. "Listen."

"You don't have to say anything," he said, triggering her irritation.

"How do you know what I'm going to say?"

"I can see it in your eyes. You want to go back for your brother."

Damn. He really could read her sometimes.

"It was hard enough being forcefully separated from your family. I don't pretend to know what that feels like. But I know you couldn't really leave him...much as I hoped to see you safe and away from this place."

Everything he said was right. His understanding warmed her. For years she hoped her family was alive, safe. Not knowing tortured her sometimes, along with feeling survivor's guilt. Running from disaster had caused their separation in the first place. She couldn't do the same thing again. Shizu needed her. "I'm glad we understand each other," she said.

He shook out the wrinkles of her doctor's jacket. "Then I hope you'll understand this, too. I can't ignore that he pushed us out of the way to save you. How can I waste his sacrifice? I can't lead you back to Koton."

"Regardless, I have to go back," she said, her chin jutting out rebelliously.

Sanosuke towered over her, his expression pleading. "I'll get you out of here first, then come back for him."

"No." She plucked her coat from his fingers and put it on.

He let out a noise of frustration, a hand raking through his hair, making it stand on end even more. "I'll throw you over my back right now and carry you out of here."

Megumi gave him a haughty laugh. "Just try it and I'll make the entire journey miserable. I have my ways." She wasn't above digging her nails into his backside. Although now the thought made her blush. She tightened her jaw against those feelings. "Besides, you admitted that my gunpowder explosion saved us. You need me."

Sanosuke sighed, seeming to know what he was up against. "Using my own words against me. Cunning fox," he muttered. "Buddha, help me."

Satisfied, Megumi straightened her sleeves and slipped her socked feet into her sandals. Fresh determination coursed through her. When she turned around, she bumped into Sanosuke's hard chest. She may have won their argument but that didn't mean he was defeated. He looked down at her, his eyes a little scary with a glimmer of red in his gaze. _Resolve._

But when he cupped her face, his touch was gentle. "You can have your way. But don't stray from my side."

She reached up and stroked his cheek, softening his eyes to that brown she loved so much. The color was like crushed amber. "I won't if you won't."

He helped her climb out of the alcove and they headed down the dark path from where they came.

#

Kenshin used his _doryusen_ against the wall of rock rubble, hoping the ranged attack would create an opening. Chunks of rock loosened, but the path remained blocked. He worried that a more forceful attack would send boulders flying in too many directions. Kaoru was behind him.

"I think we have to remove them by hand," said Katsu. "Unless you don't mind?" He danced a small bomb between his fingers.

Sanosuke's old friend from his time in the Sekiho army offered to help them. And Katsu had a story to finish. As a writer for a local newspaper, apparently he had been investigating _Tabemono_ for a while, and when Kenshin went looking for answers, they crossed paths at the gambling den and put their information together.

This leader, Koton, had made no secret about tracking down the maker of Spider's Web. Kenshin quickly understood how Megumi, and thus Sano, were implicated.

Yahiko was nearby with an older man who had introduced himself as Shizu, Megumi's brother. Koton's collateral, no doubt. He was alive, but weak with exhaustion and poor care.

When they first arrived, they'd heard the thunderous collapse in the tunnel and came upon a scene of stampeding henchmen, which they swiftly defeated. Once they rescued Shizu, he filled in the gaps about his time inside the compound, and the direction where Sano and Megumi escaped.

They had been wasting time for at least an hour with this blocked entrance.

"It seems it's our only choice," said Kenshin, despite Kaoru's antsyness over seeing the bomb. He couldn't prevent flying rock from his specialized attacks, but he could hide with Kaoru at a distance and protect her. "Let's clear out," he told her.

"I'll join you in a few minutes," said Katsu.

Kenshin lifted Shizu's arm to support the man, Yahiko lifted the other, and they quickly helped him down the tunnel. Kaoru followed at their heels. They'd gone some distance before he heard Katsu's running steps, and the low boom of the bomb from behind. They all ducked and shielded their heads. Kenshin spun his sword to block small debris that pelted in their direction. Such a tiny object could cause so much destruction... Tension hardened his shoulders as he waited to see if the rest of the tunnel would collapse. But silence answered him.

When they got back to the rubble site, coughing through the layer of dust, Kenshin heard a familiar voice.

"Irresponsible idiots. If this is their way of trying to kill us–"

A bandaged fist shot out from the debris and knocked Kenshin squarely in the face. Pain exploded in his cheek. Not a feeling he was unused to, where Sano was concerned.

"Kenshin!" Yahiko yelled.

"Yahiko? Kenshin! What are you all doing here?" Sano stepped over a rock, shocked to see them. He helped Megumi over the rubble.

"Megumi. Sano," said Kenshin. He was so relieved to see them, his body almost sagged on the hilt of his sword. "I'm glad you're alive, my friend."

"He's alive but he looks like hell," said Katsu.

Sano turned to him, grabbed him by the forearm in greeting. "Katsu, why are you here? I didn't think you'd ever join forces with an imperialist."

"We have a common goal this time." Katsu grinned.

"Dear Ken– Kenshin," said Megumi, fussing over his bruised cheek. Then her gaze went to everyone else. "Shizu!" She raced to his side, and he hugged her.

"You always disobeyed me," her brother said kindly.

"I can't be sorry this time. Not when we've just found each other."

Kaoru turned to Sano. "You gave us quite a scare, you know. Both of you." She held back tears and turned her nose up.

"Yeah, dumb head," said Yahiko.

"Don't pretend you didn't miss me." Sano laughed, but his eyes trailed after Megumi. She and her brother were talking quietly, foreheads pressed together. Kenshin was the only one who seemed to notice his friend's gaze, as Kaoru gave Sano a hard time about disappearing, and expressed relief that they had all found each other.

"Now what?" said Yahiko. "It's hard to breathe in here."

"Now we go," said Megumi. "We have my brother. Let's escape this place."

"You go. I can't," said Sano.

"Why?"

"Koton is still alive and free."

"Sano's right," said Katsu. "Koton will always come looking for you. We have to stop him for good."

The light in Megumi's eyes faded.

"Yahiko," said Kenshin. "You and Kaoru take Megumi's brother to Dr. Gensai. He needs real medical assistance."

Yahiko nodded, no longer in the pouting stage of missing all the fighting. They started helping the older man to his feet, half carrying him.

"Please take care of my brother," said Megumi.

"You're going with them," said Sano. He was looking at her intently.

"Wrong. I'm coming with you."

Sano's voice turned low and harsh. "There's a difference between bravery and stupidity."

"I know how to navigate the building. I learned it for days."

"We need her," Katsu agreed.

"No, we don't. We've infiltrated plenty of buildings before. This time is no different."

"This time _everything_ is different," said Katsu. "I've been investigating Koton for months. He's the biggest drug lord in Tokyo. No, in Japan. And he has an army of loyal supporters. Police are swayed to his side. Politicians work with him. We need to play this smart, or we don't stand a chance."

But Sano wasn't looking at Katsu while the man spoke. He stared at Megumi. The two were looking at each other wordlessly, though much seemed to be communicated. Suddenly, Sano threw his hands up in frustration and stalked ahead.

Kenshin watched his best friend, and the concern and irritation pouring off him. Megumi followed after him with stubborn pride. They clashed as usual, but it felt different this time.

Maybe Katsu was right. Maybe everything was different.

"What's his problem?" said Katsu.

Kenshin shook his head, and tried not to smile.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Sano tried not to explode. The thought of Megumi being in danger once again had him clenching his teeth the entire way back. Her recklessness was going to give him a heart attack. She had already attacked his heart in one way. Now that he'd held her, been inside of her, his blood flowed with a primal need to protect her. Beyond his pride. Beyond his life. Their connection had fused, like a trick knot. The more one tried to pull it free, the more it tightened. The way her breath caught with pleasure at his ear...The memory sent a fresh shiver of lust through his body.

And yet, he couldn't completely fault Megumi for staying behind with them to see this through. She told him how useless she felt while others saved the day. He knew about feeling useless, and helpless. And he didn't want to admit that Katsu was right. They did need Megumi to navigate. Even Sano had gotten lost in Koton's compound, which had landed him in trouble, not for the first time.

He tried to focus, knowing he would need to be ready and alert more than ever. They cleared several rushing guards from the main tunnel, which felt great because Sano felt like punching things.

They found the broken door separating the tunnel from the building. Sano exchanged a glance with Kenshin. They would go first and clear the way to protect Katsu and Megumi.

There were twenty henchmen rallying in their direction, more than Sano expected.

With their combined efforts, swift attacks had them all unconscious in seconds, their heavy bodies crumpling to the ground. As Kenshin sheathed his blade, that familiar feeling of fighting together held a rush for Sano.

"This way," said Megumi, leading them down a side hallway.

They hurried alongside her, shifting forward to knock out any guards that appeared. The winding hallways felt like a labyrinth. Beyond, Sano sensed the destruction from the earlier explosion and the disjointed movement of what sounded like attempts at damage control.

"Where is their leader?" said Kenshin.

"Koton likes to rule from the great room," said Megumi.

"How kingly of him," Katsu said with distaste.

"Even though part of it was destroyed earlier, he still might be there."

And hopefully, distracted by the chaos.

As they got closer, more and more fighters appeared. And the more he and Kenshin fought, the more attention they drew to themselves. Katsu brought up the rear with his own defensive strikes. His small bombs flabbergasted those who anticipated hand-to-hand combat.

All they had left to their advantage was speed. Kenshin slashed a path down to the great room as they rushed in. Sano's blood was pumping. His wrappings were almost in tatters, but that didn't stop him from cracking facial bones and throwing bodies across the room.

A glimpse of Koton sitting at the front made his rage boil anew. The pig-nosed leader was red-faced and shouting commands like a child in the middle of a hysterical tantrum.

"This is the guy?" said Katsu. He didn't sound impressed.

Perhaps Koton didn't look like much, but this was the monster who had kidnapped Megumi, tortured her brother, made Sano sweat and bleed, and he plagued Tokyo with drugs and crime. Maybe he once knew Koton, or he never knew him at all. It didn't matter anymore.

Feeling Sano's anger from across the room, Koton's yellow eyes swiveled in his direction.

"There he is," he said to his men, his large teeth snapping. "And you've brought Megumi back. You're dumber than I thought, Zanza."

"Maybe. But I'm gonna put an end to you nice and slowly," said Sano. "What I should've done the moment I first saw you." He knocked his fists together, priming for the fight.

"So you are the leader of this group," said Kenshin, stepping forward with a knight's gallantry. "I won't let you hurt anyone else."

Koton glanced at his men. "Who the hell is this shrimp?" Laughter chorused around the large room. His followers were smudged with dirt, and stopped their various tasks of clean-up, fighting, and rushing around. They were closing in eagerly.

"He's a legendary manslayer," said Sano, giving Kenshin a grin. "And you don't want to mess with either of us."

"Legendary? I'm the only one here who's legendary!" Koton knocked back his chair and shouted in a rage. "No one is going to keep me down. Whoever kills them gets the highest yen. And bring me the bitch doctor!"

The blood drained from Megumi's face, but her eyes were hard.

"Katsu," Sano began.

Katsu threw a bomb for distraction and dragged Megumi behind a pile of crates. Sano stayed close and fought anyone that came running in their direction. His fists churned against flesh, his kicks tossed bodies away. He flowed between their swords and daggers, hearing the whizz of their blades slice through the air. But they were too slow for him.

It wasn't the fighting skill but the sheer numbers that were the challenge. Every time Sano knocked three men down, another came at him from the side.

Then a familiar fighter appeared from the pit. Kodo. He had aided Sano's escape before.

"I'm awfully disappointed to see you here," said Kodo, cracking his knuckles.

"I don't want to fight you."

"I know, but I gotta."

Sano steeled himself, remembering Kodo's special uppercut move.

They tensed with readiness, and stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Kodo's expression was unreadable. Sano hoped he could end it quickly.

Then a body went flying between them and hit the wall. They looked over.

Kenshin was a blur, his reverse blade glinting and flashing around fallen henchmen. Jin was down, his eyes rolled back into his head.

"Well crap," said Kodo, lowering his fists.

"Does this mean you aren't fighting?" said Sano, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm fighting. But I always fight on the winning side. Hello, partner." He turned and grabbed the heads of two fighters, their legs swinging frantically in the air, and knocked them together. Kodo gave him a thumbs up over his shoulder.

The numbers started to thin, unconscious bodies littering the ground. Sano made his way to Koton, who was ready for him.

"Look what you've done, you bastard." Koton spat on the ground at Sano's feet. "You'll wish you perished with the Sekiho army." Then he turned. "RUKI!."

Sano's eyes narrowed. What other tricks did Koton have up his sleeve?

A heavy gate opened from one side of the room. Everyone seemed to hold their breath.

A hulking man came out from the gated alcove, fresh light revealing his gargantuan form. Black slanted eyes and silver hair. Upon seeing Sano, the thing roared, creating a gust of wind across the room. The giant's muscles grew bigger and expanded, his veins bulging along the ridges of his arms. His black eyes glowed red. And his teeth seemed to sharpen. It was like a nightmare come to life.

His fist, the size of a house, slammed on the ground, making a deep hole in the earth. The tremors almost knocked Sano off balance.

"Sano," said Kenshin, a warning in his voice.

"I can handle him."

Fresh adrenaline flooded Sano's body. His senses sharpened, taking in more information. The murmuring of fighters. Koton's rage edged in worry. The rubble of rocks and fallen walls. Particles of dust in the air. And Megumi...watching him like her life depended on it.

If this was the last weapon between him and Koton, then no one was going to take this fight away from him.

#

Megumi had heard about these giants from Yahiko. After fighting the Juppongatana at the Aoiya, a giant man had fought Hiko Seijūrō. Part of her thought Yahiko had embellished the excitement of the fight. But seeing one before her now, she couldn't deny the existence of such a being. And she was terrified for Sanosuke.

He'd faced large fighters like Hyottoko from the Onibawan group, but she still worried. He had been fighting for days, with little respite. The human body could only endure so much. She knew better than anyone that people weren't ever superhuman. They were only extremely athletic in their strength and skill. And eventually that strength gave out.

"My most prized weapon," Koton announced, settling further into his chair with fresh glee.

The giant's steps dented the ground as he and Sanosuke started to move.

Megumi's stomach churned. She didn't know if she could watch. Yet she couldn't look away, frozen in her spot.

The thing swung its heavy fists. Sanosuke's muscular, lithe form weaved through the attacks with controlled grace, the tails of his red headband flowing with the movement. It was David facing Goliath. At times she lost track of where he was, the giant whirling a path of destruction around them. But he was too slow, and let out a frustrated roar, so deafening and filled with rage, it curdled her insides and stripped her nerves bare.

Her eyes looked around wildly for Sanosuke. He was behind the giant. And it sensed him the same time she did. His hulking form twisted to face his tiny opponent.

In that moment of delayed reaction, Sanosuke had an opening, and the brute force of his power seemed to roll up through his body and concentrate into his right fist. _Futae no Kiwami_. Sanosuke released it.

The giant's skin rippled as he was struck in the chest, the force of the punch creating a burst of pressure that went through to his back. Likely shattering his ribs on the way out. His body went down with a deafening crash, bringing down part of the wall.

Silence descended around the room, tighter than a drum. Megumi felt stunned relief. Sanosuke was powerful, his strength making something hot and tight curl inside of her belly. And her heart opened, tenderness overwhelming her.

Sanosuke's eyes glimmered with resolve. A thrill of delicious danger hit the air. This was his chance to stop Koton. There was no one else left. They all knew it.

Then a gunshot rang out, splitting the silence.

Everyone startled like a hive of bees. Megumi looked around to see where the sound had come from. She heard Katsu gasp beside her, and followed his gaze.

In the middle of the room, Sanosuke looked like a ghost of himself, his eyes wide and shocked. Then he fell back. Moments seemed to stretch into an eternity—long and horrible—as his body hit the ground.

Time stopped. Megumi's body went numb, her lungs clamped down, and the sounds around her faded. Instead, a rush filled her ears. _This couldn't happen._ She barely registered the man holding the smoking gun, a politician in a green suit.

"He was mine," said the man. "I paid for him–"

Of all the ways this could play out, she refused to believe this was how it would end. That a dirty politician would cut the life of a rebel who'd spent his entire adult life fighting the government's corruption—and yet, for the utmost frivolous reason. That he'd paid for Sanosuke, like he was nothing more than a commodity, and didn't acquire what was promised to him. A failed transaction.

Kenshin flew into the air, his sword raised, revealing the intensity of the manslayer inside him. His eyes glowed, nearly possessed. His cry was enough to startle Megumi back to the present, the howl of his fighter's soul blasting through her paralysis.

The gun now aimed at Kenshin.

She wrenched a bomb from Katsu's pouch, igniting it, and threw it at the politician. This was for her friends. For her world. And for Sanosuke. The small blast knocked him back like a rag doll, and the blunt side of Kenshin's blade made sure he stayed down.

Koton started to escape, but Kenshin reacted faster, swinging his sword in a full arc. His reverse-blade pressed mercilessly against Koton's spine, stretching it horribly in the process of flinging his body across the room. He was knocked out, the vacant whites of his eyes rolled back and his mouth ajar with spittal residue. A long, bruising slash dented his mangled form.

Megumi could hardly rejoice at Koton's defeat. She rushed to Sanosuke's body, her fingers frantically moving over him, searching for how to undo his wounds, how to bring him back. Her vision blurred with tears.

"Sanosuke…" Her chest ached.

"If you would stop tickling me…" Sanosuke rasped.

His eyes were half open and he began to sit up. The bullet had gone through his shoulder and blood pooled from the wound.

"Are those tears for me, Megumi?" He had the nerve to give her a small grin as she was fighting emotional life and death.

She grabbed his headband and ripped it off of him.

"What's that for?"

She unfolded the cloth and wrapped it around his shoulder. Not being gentle in the least.

"Ow!"

"Serves you right for scaring me." She vowed to murder him as soon as he recovered.

He reached out and cupped her cheek, slowly brushing the pad of his thumb along her skin. She stilled as he wiped her tears away. Their gazes held.

Katsu and Kenshin approached. He dropped his hand.

"That wound doesn't look good, indeed it doesn't," said Kenshin. He was back to his tranquil self.

Sanosuke gave them a thumbs up. "I've never felt better."

* * *

 **In the timeline, Kenshin isn't supposed to succumb to his manslayer "thirst" anymore, but I've always liked that side of him.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The four of them walked home. It was dark out. Sano got his _happi_ jacket back, retaining the wicked symbol. And he'd been patched up temporarily. Megumi fashioned a sling to keep his shoulder in place. Speaking of Megumi, she was carefully not talking to him or looking at him.

Shortly after Koton's downfall, Kenshin pointed his sword in the direction of a conscious fighter, who was just regaining his feet. "Go get the police, if you will. Or I will find you." Seeing Kenshin fight, no one could deny the truth of this. The fighter nodded fearfully and did what he was told.

They waited an hour until the police arrived. They appeared on a fleet of cantering horses, led by the police chief who had been following a string of crimes tied to Koton. "We've been searching for Koton's hideout for months. Thank you once again, Himura, for bringing these men to justice."

Kenshin looked sheepish and tried to put off the police chief's praise. Sano didn't mind. He may have beat the battles, but Kenshin won the war. In the end Sano accomplished what he set out to do: Save Megumi.

"Actually," Kenshin began. "Sano did most of the work. He disbanded the _Tabemono_ for good."

The police chief smothered his surprise and thanked them again. After he left to supervise the rounding up of criminals, Kenshin turned to him.

"Did you really mean that?" said Sano.

"From what I could tell, Koton's followers thought he was all powerful, that their leader would protect them. But you showed them all that Koton was a coward in the end. And they lost faith in him. I couldn't have done that with my sword."

Sano wasn't one to shed tears, but he felt a suspicious tickle in his throat. He clasped Kenshin by the forearm. "We did it together."

Maybe Kenshin was right. If Sano hadn't driven Koton to fear with his defeat of the giant, his followers might have risen stronger later, filled with the need to avenge their leader. Now they scattered without purpose, and police rounded up the ones in sight. Kodo was likely already booking passage to another country, one that had the best sweets. He wished him well.

Yahiko had caught up with them halfway home, letting them know Shizu was in Dr. Gensai's best care. Ayame and Suzume had already brought the older man flowers and made best friends with him. Yahiko continued along with Kenshin and Katsu, wanting to hear the details of the "fun" he'd missed. Kenshin laughed while Katsu filled him in.

Their voices became faint as Sano and Megumi trailed farther behind. He watched the gentle sway of her hair, flowing like silk and shining in the moonlight. The contrast of her porcelain skin and red lips seduced him.

It seemed like a dream that she'd been abducted only a few days ago. Everything had changed.

What would happen now? Would they go back to normal, whatever that was? Did she regret what happened between them? He knew that sometimes in danger, people got caught up in the moment. But for Sano, his feelings were constant. He stopped walking.

She seemed to sense his troubled thoughts, and half turned. "Sanosuke?" She looked more closely at him. "Is it your shoulder?"

His shoulder was killing him. "No."

There were worse ways to die. Or live.

Kenshin, Yahiko, and Katsu casually continued ahead, leaving them alone.

"What is it?" she asked.

He grasped for the right words, and came up empty. There was too much he wanted to say. And he worried that it wouldn't be enough. He wasn't good at this sort of thing.

He shifted and looked at the moon, giving her his profile. "Your landlady doesn't like me."

"What?" Her eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah, she doesn't like me. I don't think I'll be able to come around your place anymore."

Megumi's expression was a mixture of bewilderment. She put her hands on her hips. "Well it's a women's boarding house."

"That's another problem. If we're going to live together." He gave her a sidelong look.

His meaning seemed to register. She smiled slowly. "What if I don't want to live with you?" It was her turn to shift away.

He sputtered. "But we were together. I wasn't raised to... _abandon_ a woman. What if you're–" Pregnant. Sano couldn't seem to get the word out. And part of him hoped. He wanted all of her. And whatever the future gave them.

His face felt like it was on fire. Or his wound was gathering an infection.

"Why, Sanosuke, are you blushing?" She looked at him over her shoulder. The fox was coming out.

"No."

"Don't worry. I will take care of that possibility. I've always taken care of myself."

 _Take care of that possibility._ Sano suspected she meant ending it before it started. His stomach plummeted, the fierce reaction surprising him. Whatever she really felt, she would do it thinking she was making his life easier. Maybe she would hide her pain. Just the thought of her going through it alone sparked his anguish.

It was time for their isolation to end. They'd both had separate, difficult lives. They'd both grown into the people they wished to be. He wanted their paths to run together, finally.

She was faced away from him, shrouded in mystery, shielding herself. He pulled her against his chest, and rested his hand on her flat belly. He breathed in the floral, meadowy scent at her neck, nuzzled her ear. She sighed with pleasure, and the heat of her back warmed him. She was still affected by him. It made him smile into her skin.

"I know you can take care of yourself," he said. "You take care of everybody. But...would it be so bad if I took care of you, too?"

She turned in his arms to face him, surprising him with wet eyes. "I don't know how to do this."

"Neither do I."

She sighed. "What I mean is, after Kanryu, I promised I would live a life of repentance. I never thought I could live...a _happy_ life."

Her words shocked him. Was she admitting that a happy life meant one with him in it? His chest expanded so much he feared it would burst.

He cupped her face, catching a fallen tear with his thumb and brushing it away. He didn't have poetic speeches or grand gestures. Unless one included running off to fight in a pit to save the woman he loved. And he loved her, deeply.

"It's hopeless, isn't it?" she said.

"How could it be, when I love you," he said simply.

Then he kissed her with aching tenderness, pouring all of the raw passion he felt into it. Her lips parted for him, and her tongue touched his, making him shiver. They joined with familiarity now, and he knew she was changed too. They couldn't fight what they had. He wanted to take in her sorrows, her regret, her pain.

Megumi wrapped her arms around him, accepting him.

He winced as a bolt of pain spread up his arm

"I'm sorry! Your shoulder."

"I was shot, you know."

"It was very heroic."

She began to inspect it, but he shrugged it away and chuckled. He pressed his forehead against hers. "Doesn't hurt at all. Nothing hurts."

"I feel the same way."

He took her hand in his, lacing their fingers for the world to see. "Let's go home," he said.

"Where? Not the Ruffian Row House, I hope."

The vein in his forehead flexed. She killed him. "All right. The Kamiya dojo."

"I guess we can _freeload_ for a night."

"The missie will be glad to see you're safe," he agreed.

She slanted a look at him. "You know we'll have to figure something out."

"I'll build a nice house. It'll be small, but enough room for us. And maybe two kids. They'll play on the grassy hill overlooking the water. It's the perfect spot."

She stopped in her tracks and looked at him. "You've thought about all of this?"

The intensity of her gaze, even in the dark, made him feel a little embarrassed. Self-awareness creeped along his throat, and he forced himself not to scratch at the spot. He hadn't thought about it long, but it was easy to imagine all of those things with Megumi.

"Yeah," he said.

She surprised him with a quick kiss on the lips. "Then let's go home."

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The End

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this little story. It was so much fun to write!**

 **Thank you for the comments. They've encouraged me along the way. I hope to write more Megumi/Sano adventures. *heart***


	12. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 _One month later_

#

Sanosuke had changed his mind, was Megumi's first thought, as she joined her hands in his.

Today was their wedding and he looked like he preferred to stand in Koton's fighting pit rather than at their ceremony. His expression was drawn and grayed. For a moment she'd had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes bulge when she entered the room wearing her elaborate kimono that Miss Tae and Tsubame had helped her stitch. Her entrance was framed by happy guests. Kaoru gave her the thumbs up as she passed.

Customs were changing from the Edo era into the modernized Meiji, but some traditions carried. The ceremony took place at the Kamiya dojo's shrine, and the priest performed his ritual of purification on them and spoke to the spirits.

Megumi was surrounded by loved ones on her special day—her friends of course, and her family. _Her family._ She had siblings and a parent who cared about her. They all had a tearful reunion when her mother, second brother, and his new wife made the journey to Tokyo, guided by Sanosuke. He had traveled to Aizu with news of Shizu's condition and their upcoming nuptials. He had brought her family back into her life. And Shizu, as the eldest man in the family, gave Sanosuke his blessing.

Speaking of, her fiance looked like a man going through something terrible at the moment. To seal their union, she and Sanosuke drank three sips each of sake from three different cups. In contrast to her elegant sips, he threw back his sake like he was in the gambling den.

Gray mixed with the redness of too much drink. His complexion looked close to ill at that point, and Megumi stifled the urge to check his temperature—or punch him in the face. His hands were clammy, and she detected a slight tremble to his fingers when they clasped hands.

When she met his gaze, a tremulous smile wavered on his lips. But it instantly collapsed.

Buddha in heaven, was he nervous? As soon as the thought entered her mind, she knew it to be true. He was a mess. The great Sanosuke Sagara, who stomped around the city streets looking for a fight, who threw open sinister meetings in the night, who fought the most dangerous criminals—including giants—was nervous to marry her. This was too good.

She could feel the tight smile on her face relax into a smug grin. Just as they were winding down to the end—spirits and deities called upon sufficiently—Megumi made some extra requests to lengthen the ceremony.

"I'd like everyone to join me in a prayer to honor my father who couldn't be here," she said, giving her most imploring eyes to the priest. Sanosuke shifted his feet, and she clamped down on his hands tighter.

"Bless his memory!" her mother cried.

An interlude followed. "And blessings to my brother and his new bride," said Megumi. This was met with a low growl from her almost-husband. She jammed her clog into his foot. The pain brought some life back into him. His hands warmed and his face came alive—with outrage.

"And also, to everyone's future. May you be as happy as I am now," she concluded, stifling a laugh.

At the last moment, Sanosuke's impatient, anguished roar was drowned out in the cheers and applause as they were pronounced husband and wife. He caught her eye, likely about to berate her over his sore foot, and slowly seemed to realize what she was about. His eyes glowed with revenge. She smiled wider.

In one move he had her in his arms, and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth. His lips slid along hers, his fingers cupping the back of her head and gripping her hair, and his tongue delved into her mouth. It was so improper, she guessed her mother would faint. But it was hard to think much at all when he kissed her so thoroughly, burning her up. Her knees went weak and she sagged against his solid chest.

When he pulled back, he smirked. "How's that for torture?"

She'd rip off his black wedding kimono that instant if they hadn't been in a shrine full of guests.

"Noted," she said breathlessly. "After what you just put me through, I might drink my fill of sake and celebrate with our guests for hours and hours. I may even pass out drunk before we get to the marriage bed."

Sanosuke's jaw dropped. She laughed and slipped away to the celebration. Leave him hanging with that.

Kenshin offered her some decorated rice balls. Kaoru passed her some sake. Yahiko was giving hopeful eyes toward Tsubame, who blushed prettily. Her mother and Dr. Gensai enjoyed watching his granddaughters play with Shizu. Even Katsu was having a good time, making eyes at Miss Tae, who gave him a discouraging look.

After a few brief mingles among the family, Megumi felt her hand being grabbed and her new husband none-too-gently dragging her away. Her wedding party soon descended from her sight.

"Was it something I said?" she asked innocently.

"Sly, devious woman," he said. "You will be the death of me." Then his mouth came down on hers again and he kissed her senseless. His lips demanded entrance, his tongue darted forward and met hers. Not asking. Taking.

He groaned and broke off, as if it was the hardest thing in the world. They continued their mad dash over grassy hills.

"Don't you want to stay for the rest of the party?" There were the family speeches and ceremonial cake cutting.

"No," he ground out.

A thrill of anticipation ran through her body. She loved getting under his skin. And truthfully, she was glad not to stay.

They hadn't been together since that perilous night in the cave. Something about being back home; it hadn't felt right to sneak around like two teenagers. She wanted some semblance of saving herself for her husband. And mysteriously, she hadn't seen much of her husband-to-be the last few days.

Sanosuke had a hungry, determined look in his eyes as he marched them onward.

"Where are we going?"

"Home."

 _Home._ Last she heard, Sanosuke was still building their house. He and Kenshin were good at chopping up trees with sword slashes and fist punching, but whether they knew how to build a roof over her head was another question.

It was getting dark. Her clogs snagged in the long grass and she tripped. Sanosuke caught her but didn't slow his pace.

"I don't know what you're talking about but I wish you would slow down," she said. "A few more minutes won't kill–"

Her words trailed off and she stopped as a cozy house came into view. Nestled in the valley, it was a wood and bamboo structure with a sloped roof, and wildflowers planted along the front. Space had been etched outside for livestock and plant beds. He knew she would need to plant her medicinal herbs. By the water well, a beautiful, lone tree feathered out and cast a patch of shade nearby. But most breathtaking of all, the sunset exploded from behind the house in oranges and pinks.

No one had ever gifted her something so beautiful. She was vaguely aware that she was stuttering nonsense, worse than Kaoru. Her trained ability to moderate her feelings was gone. A million emotions spilled out of her.

"I thought you might say that," he joked in response to her gibberish. But his eyes watched her intently, absorbing every flicker of movement in her expression.

Perhaps this was why he was nervous at the ceremony. He didn't know how she would react after weeks of his hard work. She spoke when she trusted her voice again.

"This is what you were doing lately? I thought you were gambling."

"And you still married me." He laughed. The hand that was gripping hers now gentled, his fingers stroking over her knuckles.

"It's too perfect," she said seriously. She really thought her heart might explode with love. This time, she dragged him along.

He caught her in a kiss, which rapidly escalated. His hands were everywhere, and her arms went around his neck. Most of the home she missed seeing as he carried her inside. She would appreciate it later. Sanosuke had her against the door, his tongue stroking hers, moving forward then retreating, mimicking how their bodies would soon move together. Her body tightened with need.

They did eventually make it to their bedroom. Rough, urgent release had turned into whispers and languid affection afterward. Sleepy amber eyes and a devilish smile rested beside her as she dozed.

Megumi thought she could wake up like this every morning. No chores, no patients, and no drug lords to interrupt them. Sanosuke was becoming a bad influence. She felt alive and free and brave. In the weeks leading up to their wedding, she hadn't been scared or startled by shadows. She didn't simultaneously wish for the worst and fear it at the same time. She wasn't waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Somehow along the way, her love for Sanosuke taught her how to love herself. She became patient and compassionate with her soul. Allowed herself good things. Sanosuke had saved her physically, but he had also saved her spirit. Now it was just the two of them, with their legs tangled together in the blanket, unhurried and ready for their future.

"I said it first," Sanosuke murmured. His calloused fingers began to move along her skin.

Megumi half opened her eyes. She found it very hard to concentrate on any sort of conversation when he shifted lower and kissed a path along the curve of her hip, his tousled hair tickling her belly. She underestimated his stamina and she could feel him ready for her again. The familiar warmth and excitement of her arousal coursed through her.

His mouth followed the path of his hands. He loved kissing her. He seemed to love kissing her everywhere.

"Said what first?" she asked.

He climbed up and met her eyes. "That I love you."

"It isn't a competition," she said, amused. "But I love you more."

"I see where this argument is going." He kissed her between words, making her dizzy. "I just want it on the record. That I said it first."

Oh, his mischievous grin. It filled her with something dark and thrilling. _Wicked._

"I think we both win in this situation," she said, and pulled him back down to her.

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End file.
